ANTHROPOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF 


THE  AMERICAN  MUSEUM 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 

Vol.  XXV,  Part  II 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CROW  INDIANS 

BY 

ROBERT  H.  LOWIE 


THE 

f  AMERICAN 
MUSEUM 

NATURAL     U 
HISTORY 


6L25l^ 


•C/IlL/T  new  YORK 

PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  TRUSTEES 
1922 


^       -'^, 


'""  ""'fioey 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CROW  INDIANS. 
By  Rouekt  H,  Lowie. 


300 


CONTENTS. 

PREFACE    

SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS    . 
VISIONS  AND  DREAMS 

Painless  Visions 

Unsought  Stress  Visions 

Sought  Visions    . 
SHAMANS    ... 

Contests 

Legerdemain 

Invulnerability 

Charming  Game  . 

War  Shamans 

Wraps-up-his-tail 

Miscellaneous    . 
THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE 
SOULS;    GHOSTS;    HEREAFTER 
SPECIAL  MEDICINE  OBJECTS 

Medicine  Rocks  ... 

Bundles 

Hillside's  Account  of  the  Arrow  Bundle 
Flat-head-woman's  Arrow  Bundle 
Flat-head-woman's  Tale 

Painted  Tipis       .... 

Shields 

The  Tale  of  Magpie's  Shield 

Various  Medicine  Objects 

MAGIC 

OFFERINGS  AND  PRAYERS 

TABOOS        

MISCELLANEOUS  DATA 
APPENDIX 

The  Five  Brothers 


Page. 
313 
315 
323 
325 
330 
332 
344 
344 
351 
353 
354 
359 
368 
372 
373 
380 
385 
385 
391 
391 
394 
395 
401 
402 
409 
418 
424 
426 
433 
434 
438 
438 


311 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Text  Figures. 

Page. 

1.  Medicine  Rock  with  Offerings 3*^6 

2.  Medicine  Rock  with  Offerings 387 

3.  Magpie's  Shield 405 

4.  Wolf-Hes-down's  Shield 405 

•5.     Shield  Covers 405 

6.  Buffalo-hide  Shield 406 

7.  War  Medicine 41« 


312 


PREFACE. 

Religious  beliefs  penetrate  practically  every  phase  of  Crow  culture, 
and  accordingly  considerable  information  on  this  topic  is  sprinkled 
through  a  number  of  previous  publications  dealing  with  this  tribe, 
notably  those  devoted  to  the  description  of  ceremonial  activities.  In 
the  present  paper,  I  attempt  to  expound  those  Crow  conceptions  that 
would  naturally  be  looked  for  under  the  caption  of  "Religion"  and  in 
the  interests  of  clearness,  I  have  sometimes  drawn  on  material  already 
in  print. 

How  fruitful  comparative  researches  in  this  field  are  likely  to  be,  is 
suggested  by  a  preliminary  essay  on  the  guardian  spirit  and  vision  con- 
cept of  the  area,  by  Mrs.  Ruth  Benedict,  which  is  to  appear  in  the 
"American  Anthropologist"  and  which  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  read- 
ing in  typescript.  Naturally  comparison  cannot  logically  stop  at  the 
more  or  less  artificial  boundaries  involved  in  the  delimitation  of  culture 
areas.  The  student  of  the  Plains  is  led  imperceptibly  to  consider  condi- 
tions in  the  Woodland  area  as  well,  and  it  would  be  odd  if  the  undoubted 
ceremonial  connections  between  the  Plains  and  the  Southwest  were 
wholly  unaccompanied  by  corresponding  resemblances  in  the  subjective 
counterpart  of  ritual.  However,  though  keenly  interested  in  comparative 
investigations  of  this  type,  I  have  in  the  present  paper  confined  myself 
almost  entirely  to  offering  some  additional  raw  data  to  my  colleagues. 

The  material  was  not  gathered  during  a  single  visit  specially  devoted 
to  the  subject  here  dealt  with,  but  at  various  times  during  my  Crow  field- 
trips,  ranging  from  1907  to  1916.  Probably  more  information  was  ob- 
tained from  Gray-bull  than  from  any  one  other  native  authority,  and 
the  sum-total  of  the  statements  attributed  to  him  furnishes  a  fair 
conception  of  the  religious  attitude  of  a  Crow  Indian  ranking  high, 
though  not  among  the  very  highest,  in  public  esteem  and  entering  fully 
into  the  religious  life  of  his  people  without  functioning  as  a  religious 
leader.  In  that  sense  his  career  is  more  typical  than  that  of  personalities 
like  Medicine-crow,  Big-ox,  or  Lone-tree,  from  and  about  whom,  how- 
ever, I  have  secured  as  much  information  as  I  could. 

Robert  H.  Lowie. 
January,  1922. 


SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS. 

The  Siouan  term  that  has  become  best  known  as  an  equivalent  of 
the  Algonkian  manito  is  the  Dakota  wakq.  Variants  of  this  stem,  such 
as  wakanda,  wakandagi,  makq,  have  been  reported  from  Southern 
Siouan  tribes.  I  know  of  no  phonetic  equivalent  in  Crow.  On  the  other 
hand,  J.  O.  Dorsey  records  another  Omaha  word  for  mysterious,  viz. 
quhe,  which  is  clearly  related  to  the  Winnebago  qopine,  Mandan  XQpini\ 
Hidatsa  xupi  or  maxupi,  Crow  maxpe  or  maxps.  The  initial  ma  in 
Hidatsa  and  Crow  is  simply  the  generic  nominal  prefix,  leaving  xp  as 
the  consonantal  complex  to  be  used  for  comparative  purposes.  The  occur- 
rence of  Biloxi  xi  with  the  identical  connotation  is  at  least  suggestive.^ 
Whether  it  represents  a  reduced  Siouan  stem  or  a  radical  form,  is  a 
question  to  be  decided  by  linguistic  speciaHsts.  That,  the  Biloxi  form 
should  recall  the  Northern  Siouan  languages  leather  than  those  of  the 
Omaha  group,  is  not  remarkable  since  this  talUes  with  Swanton's  ob- 
servations on  the  language  generally. 

It  remains  to  elucidate  the  Crow  concept  by  some  concrete  examples 
of  the  application  of  its  linguistic  correlate.  So  far  as  I  know,  the  Crow 
never  refer  to  the  Supreme  Being  by  a  term  corresponding  to  the  Dakota 
Waka-tanka  (Great  Mystery).  The  concept  of  God  with  which  they 
have  been  familiarized  by  missionaries  is  rendered  ak'-hitdt-did,  He-who- 
everything-made ;  and  the  aboriginal  notion  that  most  closely  resembles 
that  of  Christianity  is  covered  by  terms  not  involving  the  stem  maxpe 
at  all,  viz.,  by  the  words  Isi'kawudte  (Old-Man-Coyote)  and  Ax^ace 
(Sun).  This,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  Old-Man-Coyote  and  the 
Sun  are  not  regarded  as  maxpe;  I  am  convinced  that  they  are.  How- 
ever, it  indicates  that  the  Crow  are  charier  of  using  the  term  than  the 
Dakota.  They  apply  it,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  not  to  designate  particular 
individualized  supernatural  beings,  but  to  convey  the  idea  that  a  person 
or  object  is  possessed  of  those  quaUties  transcending  the  ordinary  which 
are  summarized  by  the  generic  word  maxpe.  This,  then,  is  an  abstract 
notion  to  which  concrete  experiences  are  or  are  not  assimilated.  The 
man  who  superintended  the  driving  of  deer  into  a  corral  is  thus  described 
in  a  text:  ak'did  batse  rdk  maxpd'-tseruk,  "The  one  who  did  it  was  a 
maxpn  man,  it  is  said."  In  a  myth  a  woman  who  has  transformed  herself 
into  a  bear  is  pursuing  her  sister  and  brothers.  A  magical  obstacle  is 
created  to  delay  her.    But :  maxpi-racen  ik'  uctsi'-tseruk,  "She  was  maxpd, 

'I  also  recorded  a  Mandan  stem  maxana. 

-J.  O.  Dorsey,  "A  Study  of  Siouan  Cults"  {Eleventh  Annual  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
Washington,  1894),  .366  f.;  J.  O.  Dorsey  and  John  R.  Swanton,  "A  Dirtionary  of  the  Biloxi  and  Ofo 
Languages"   (Bulletin  47,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1912),  221. 

315 


316         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  oj  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

that  is  why  she  got  out,  it  is  said."  Old-Woman's-Grandchild,  the  hero 
who  conquers  all  sorts  of  monsters,  is  of  course  maxpe;  his  adoptive 
grandmother,  who  is  often  identified  with  the  witch  Hicictawio,  is 
specifically  described  as  "also  maxpi"  {ku  maxpi^'rdk'). 

The  stem  appears  nominally  without  the  prefix  mtheiormxapdnid) 
e.g.,  xapiri-ice,  medicine-case.  The  suffix  I  interpret  as  the  stem  did, 
to  make,  to  cause.  Generally  possessive  pronouns  are  prefixed  and  the 
medial  p  becomes  a  sonant.  Thus,  we  get  such  combinations  as,  nax- 
pits'e  idxbiridc,  the  bear  is  his  medicine;  hidxbiridc  di'ita,  take  that  medi- 
cine of  mine.  This  noun  designates  any  tangible  object  regarded  with 
special  veneration,  e.g.,  the  feather  derived  from  a  vision  and  insuring 
safety  in  battle. 

Altogether  the  Crow  concepts  correspond  to  the  Hidatsa  equivalents, 
xupi,  maxupi,  as  defined  by  Matthews,  who  writes  them  hopd,  mahopd. 
The  former  means  "to  be  mysterious;  sacred,  to  have  curative  powers,  to 
possess  charm,  incomprehensible,  spiritual.  Same  as  Dakota  wakan, 
but  signifies  also  the  power  of  curing  diseases."  The  noun  is  rendered 
"medicine,  charm,  spell."^ 

Of  recent  years  the  question  has  been  broached  whether  the  manitou 
concept  may  not  be  completely  merged  in  that  of  animism.  That  is  to 
say,  the  sacredness  of  maxpe  persons  or  objects  is  ascribed  solely  to  the 
connection  they  have  had  with  spirits.-  Thus,  Dr.  Radin  quite  cate- 
gorically states  that  the  Winnebago  and  Ojibway  apply  their  respective 
terms  for  'mysterious'  invariably  "to  definite  spirits,  not  necessarily 
definite  in  shape,";  and  he  evidently  regards  this  statement  as  of  uni- 
versal validity,  at  least  in  North  America.  A  peculiarly  shaped  object, 
he  argues,  receives  offerings  because  it  belongs  to  a  spirit  or  is  ^  spirit's 
dwelling-place;  an  arrow  possesses  specific  virtues  because  it  is  a  spirit 
transformed  or  a  spirit's  abode;  and  so  forth. 

This  point  of  view  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  borne  out  by  the 
Crow  data.  It  is  true  that  in  Crow  theory  almost  all  'medicine'  objects 
are  derived  from  a  vision,  that  is  to  say,  from  a  spiritual  visitant.  But 
this  spirit  is  frequently  not  'definite'  in  any  ordinary  sense  of  the  term. 
That  is,  it  is  not  one  of  a  serips  of  supernatural  beings  definite^  con- 
ceived by  the  Indian  before  his  vision,  but  merely  a  personified  cause 
of  the  visionary's  subjective  experiences.    This  is  why  the  Crow  who  has 


•Washington  Matthews.  "Ethnography  and  Philology  of  the  Hidatsa  Indians"  (Miscellaneous 
Publications,  United  States  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey,  no.  7,  Washington,  1877),  47  seq.,  149, 
184. 

2Paul  Radin,  "Religion  of  the  North  American  Indians"  (Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol.  27, 
1914),  344-351. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  317 

prayed  for  a  blessing  to  the  Sun  may  receive  a  revelation  from  a  quite 
different  being.  For  the  same  reason  he  differentiates  between  dream 
experiences  of  two  different  types, — the  ordinary  dreams  without  reUgi- 
ous  significance,  and  the  dreams  that  are  reckoned  the  full  equivalent  of 
visions.  Evidently  the  difference  can  only  rest  on  a  difference  in  sub- 
jective reaction;  one  experience  thrills  and  thereby  convinces  the  be- 
holder that  he  is  in  communication  with  the  supernatural,  the  other  does 
not. 

Secondly,  the  application  of  the  term  rnaxpe  suggests  that  it  is 
primarily  an  expression  of  power  transcending  the  ordinary.  The  bear- 
woman  of  the  myth  is  maxpe  because  she  has  power  to  transform  herself 
into  a  bear,  to  extricate  herself  from  difficult  positions,  etc.  There  is  no 
other  way  to  account  for  such  activities  than  to  assume  that  she  has  some 
of  that  supernatural  attribute  by  which  such  results  are  effected.  But 
there  is  no  suggestion  that  she  ever  acquired  her  powers  from  a  definite 
spirit.  Tliis,  however,  merely  brings  us  to  the  question,  "What  is  a 
spirit?"  And  the  only  empirical  answer  possible  seems  to  be  that  the 
maxpe  power  is  the  generic  principle  of  which  spirits  are  the  personified 
concrete  manifestations.  What  makes  it  possible  to  group  together  so 
heterogeneous  an  assemblage  of  beings  as  the  Sun,  the  Thunderbird,  the 
mythical  Dwarf,  and  a  hundred  and  one  others  who  may  appear  in 
visions  is  that  they  possess  maxpe  power  and  are  able  to  transfer  it: 
this  and  this  alone  is  the  badge  of  their  divinity. 

Finally,  the  psychological  processes  assumed  towards  the  same 
tangible  'medicine'  object  must  be  supposed  to  vary  with  different 
persons  using  it.  The  original  visionary  may  invest  it  with  an  air  of 
sacredness  because  he  has  received  it  from  a  spiritual  visitant.  But  to 
his  fellow-tribesmen  who  have  not  shared  the  experience  demonstration  of 
its  genuinely  sacred  character  Hes  in  success.  If  the  medicine  was  given 
to  insure  safety  in  battle  and  the  owner  emerges  unscathed  from  hostile 
encounters;  if  it  was  granted  for  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  the  bene- 
ficiary secures  an  abundance  of  horses:  then  others  will  seek  participa- 
tion in  the  benefits  of  the  vision  by  purchase  and  will  ordinarily  obtain 
copies  of  the  medicine  with  instructions  as  to  its  use  and  relevant  taboos. 
Now  it  is  inconceivable  that  in  such  cases,  which  were  exceedingly 
numerous,  the  ultimate  medicine  owner  should  retain  the  attitude  of 
mind  of  the  original  visionary.  To  all  intents  and  purposes  the  medicine 
becomes  in  his  consciousness  a  charm  or  fetish  devoid  of  definite  spiritu- 
ality. He  may  press  his  medicine  to  his  breast  and  utter  a  prayer  for 
long  life  and  happiness,  but  even  if  there  be  a  transitory  personification 


318  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  Hisiory.     [Vol.  XXV, 

of  the  object  there  is  no  individualization;  the  same  prayer  would  be 
mumbled  to  any  one  of  a  thousand  other  medicine  objects.  And  as  an 
object  originally  bestowed  in  a  vision  may  be  completely  divorced  in 
consciousness  from  its  pristine  animistic  associations,  so  I  am  convinced 
that  objects,  such  as  rocks  (p.  385),  are  invested  with  the  maxpe  quality 
without  regard  to  their  being  the  seat  or  transformed  essence  of  a  spirit. 
At  all  events,  the  burden  of  the  proof  rests  upon  those  who  in  the  absence 
of  evidence  insist  on  an  animistic  basis  for  the  maxpe  concept. 

From  the  variability  of  individual  visionary  experiences  it  follows 
that  the  number  of  supernatural  beings  is  indefinite;  and  as  pointed  out 
above,  the  character  of  these  beings  is  frequently  ill-defined.  Never- 
theless, certain  natural  phenomena  and  mythological  personages  lend  at 
least  their  names  to  the  spirits  that  figure  in  religious  belief  and  practice. 
It  would  be  vain  to  attempt  an  hierarchical  systematization  of  these 
'deities.'  The  Crow  have  no  priestly  caste  and  there  has  been  little 
attempt  to  standardize  popular  conceptions.  Above  all,  we  must 
beware  of  identifying  the  results  of  such  ratiocination  with  the  spontane- 
ous reactions  of  the  individual's  religious  consciousness.  In  the  latter  the 
feather  granted  in  a  vision  and  insuring  to  its  possessor  longevity  or 
wealth  looms  larger,  I  am  convinced,  than  anj'  of  the  cosmic  forces,  no 
matter  how  important  these  may  be  in  philosophic  speculation.  In 
other  words,  the  Crow  seem  to  me  to  be  essentially  individualists  in 
reHgion.  Not  that  a  common  traditional  basis  of  reUgious  conceptions 
is  lacking;  but  the  relative  value  assigned  to  specific  elements  of  this 
chaotic  complex  varies  with  individual  experiences. 

A  partial  exception  may  be  made  in  favor  of  the  Sun.  I  do  not  mean 
that  a  person  who  has  received  a  revelation  from  the  Thunder  will  sub- 
ordinate his  patron  to  the  Sun  in  his  own  religious  life.  But  probably 
a  majority  of  the  Crow  looked  in  the  first  instance  for  a  revelation  from 
the  Sun  and  certain  important  rituaUstic  phenomena  are  predominantly, 
if  not  exclusively,  associated  with  solar  worship.  Thus,  the  oaths  sworn 
to  establish  a  claim  to  disputed  war  honors  were  addressed  to  the  Sun; 
to  him  were  offered  the  skins  of  albino  buffalo ;  and  at  least  preferentially 
the  sweatlodge  seems  to  have  been  conceived  as  a  prayer  to  the  Sun. 

The  Sun,  then,  approaches  as  closely  as  any  Crow  deity  to  our  con- 
cept of  a  Supreme  Being.  Nevertheless,  his  character  is  singularly  ill- 
defined,  and  if  we  have  recourse  to  mythological  evidence  we  merely 
have  confusion  worse  confounded.  For  one  thing,  there  is  marked  dis- 
crepancy of  opinion  as  to  the  identity  of  the  Sun  and  Old-Man-Coyote. 
There  is  at  least  a  strong  tendenc}^  to  regard  them  as  one  and  the  same, 


1922. 


Loivie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  319 


yet  in  his  cosmogonic  accounts  Medicine-crow,  one  of  my  most  conserva- 
tive informants,  constantly  vacillated  as  to  the  identification.^  On  the 
other  hand,  White-arm  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  Sun  was  regularly 
supplicated  in  prayer,  while  Old-Man-Coyote  never  was;  while  One-blue- 
bead  regarded  Old-Man-Coyote  as  the  creator  of  everything  and  the 
equivalent  of  Ak'-hHdt-du  (God),  but  said  that  the  Sun  was  distinct 
{cidr-dk'). 

I  am  inclined  to  take  the  position  that  we  are  here  confronted  with 
the  coalescence  of  two  originally  distinct  conceptions.  The  Sun,  judging 
from  our  knowledge  of  other  tribes,  must  have  been  an  ancient  constitu- 
ent of  aboriginal  religion.  Similarly,  the  culture-hero  and  trickster 
concept  as  exemphfied  in  the  character  of  Old-Man-Coyote  is  of  great 
antiquity  but  has  rather  literary  and  philosophical  than  religious  sig- 
nificance. He  is  the  deus  ex  machina,  to  whom  the  Crow  almost  auto- 
matically attribute  the  origin  of  most  tribal  institutions.  This  aspect  of 
his  activities  is  at  least  not  irreconcilable  with  the  less  definite  notions  the 
Crow  may  be  assumed  to  have  had  of  the  Sun.  It  may  have  been  the 
desire  to  give  greater  definiteness  to  their  conceptions  of  the  foremost  of 
their  supernatural  beings  that  led  some  Crow  unconsciously  to  identify 
the  two  characters  by  tacitly  ignoring  the  less  dignified  phase  of  Old-Man- 
Coyote.  On  the  other  hand,  some  individualities  may  be  reluctant  to 
accept  the  mythical  character  as  a  rehgious  being  because  of  the  part  he 
plays  in  folk-literature.  It  is  true  that  the  Sun  does  not  uniformly 
appear  either  as  a  benevolent  or  a  superior  being,  for  in  the  story  of 
"The  Orphan's  Contest  with  the  Sun,"^  he  mahciously  keeps  away  game 
from  the  Indians  because  of  the  hero's  intimacy  with  his  mistress  and  is 
worsted  in  the  ensuing  conflict.  However,  in  general,  the  Sun  is  pic- 
tured as  both  powerful  and  benignant  and  certainly  never  as  a  trickster. 

The  Sun  is  always  conceived  as  male  and  is  often  addressed  as  indsa'- 
ka,  paternal  uncle,  father's  clansman.  Although  the  Sun  is  so  frequently 
prayed  to,  it  is  remarkable  that  he  so  rarely  appears  in  visions.  In-the- 
mouth  explained  this  by  saying  that  he  (as  well  as  Cirape  and  Old-Man- 
Coyote)  sent  the  various  animals  that  do  appear,  but  his  statement  is 
uncorroborated  and  seemed  like  an  interpretation  given  at  the  spur  of 
the  moment. 

The  manner  of  praying  to  the  Sun  and  making  offerings  to  him  will 
be  considered  below.  As  to  his  creative  functions,  however,  one  point 
had  best  be  made  in  the  present  connection.    Though  he  (or  Old-Man- 


^Lowie,  this  volume,  14  f. 
'Lowie,  this  volume,  99. 


320  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

Coyote)  is  commonly  identified  with  Ak'-hiVdt-did,  he  actually  does  not 
figure  in  myth  as  the  creator  of  everything,  but  only  as  the  creator  of  the 
Indians  and  the  one  who  arranges  the  earth  after  having  birds  dive  for  it. 
Apart  from  these  birds,  which  while  figuring  as  the  Sun's  (Old-Man- 
Coyote's)  servants  are  not  stated  to  be  his  creatures,  the  Coyote,  the 
prototype  of  the  medicine-rocks  (hacDritsi'tse) ,  and  the  sacred  Tobacco 
plant  are  all  expressly  described  as  beings  of  independent  origin.^ 

Old-Man-Coyote,  apart  from  his  mythical  exploits  and  pranks,  is  as 
indefinite  a  being  as  the  Sun,  with  whom  he  is  so  frequently  identified. 
Where  he  functions  rehgiously,  the  trickster  phase  of  his  dual  person- 
ahty  is  wholly  lacking.  In  mythology  it  is  important  to  note  that  he  is 
not  represented  as  a  coyote;  indeed,  a  coyote  is  repeatedly  associated 
with  him  as  a  distinct  individual.-  When  he  transforms  himseh  into 
animal  shape,  he  assumes  the  form  of  a  wolf,^  but  most  commonly  he 
appears  as  a  human  character  and  is  occasionally  called  by  the  usual 
Hidatsa  designation  of  First-worker  (Itsf'k'-baric^),  which  of  course  has 
no  animal  suggestions. 

The  Moon  figures  far  less  frequently  than  the  Sun  in  religious  belief 
and  practice.  According  to  one  informant,  the  address  misa'ka,  father's 
clansman  (see  above),  is  shared  by  this  spirit,  which  would  make  it  of 
male  sex,  but  according  to  Gray-bull,  whose  opinion  is  borne  out  by  the 
weight  of  other  evidence,  the  proper  address  is  masa'Mare,  grandmother. 
It  also  appears  as  a  man  in  one  of  the  versions  of  the  Grandson  myth,^ 
however  the  preponderance  of  evidence  is  to  the  effect  that  it  is  conceived 
as  female.  There  is  said  to  be  an  old  woman  in  the  moon  and  a  pole  with 
meat  hanging  from  it.  In  a  tale  which  is  essentially  the  account  of  a 
vision  and  might  in  some  measure  reflect  actual  experiences  of  this  type, 
the  Moon  appears  as  a  woman  of  plain  dress  and  wearing  an  elkskin  robe; 
in  another  story  she  is  an  old  woman  dwelUng  near  the  Sun.^  In  a  nar- 
rative accounting  for  the  origin  of  the  sacred  doll  employed  in  the  sun 
dance,  the  IMoon  woman,  dressed  in  an  elk  robe,  presents  the  first  doll- 
maker  with  this  holy  image,  and  the  doll  is  said  to  represent  the  Moon.^ 
Gray-bull's  statements  are  entitled  to  special  consideration  on  this 
subject,  since  he  had  a  brass  representation  of  the  New-Moon  for  one  of 
his  medicines  and  occasionally  made  smoke  offerings  to  the  Full-Moon 


'Lowie,  this  volume  14  f. 

'Sec  this  volume,  15,  17  seq. 

Hhid.,  31,  38. 

*The  Hidatsa  equivalent  is  Itsi'kawa'hiric. 

'Lowie,  this  volume,  52. 

Hhid.,  187,  157. 

'Lowie,  this  series,  vol.  10,  14. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  321 

and  prayed  to  her.  When  he  obtained  his  medicine  he  was  told  that  the 
Moon  was  an  old  woman;  he  says  that  Old -Man-Coyote  when  visiting 
the  Crow'  told  them  the  Moon  was  their  grandmother.  Gray-bull  in  a 
dream  once  saw  an  old  woman  who  gave  him  a  song,  and  he  identifies 
her  with  the  Moon.  Old-dog  told  me  about  an  old  man  who  had  a  vision 
of  the  New-Moon,  cut  out  a  crescent-shaped  hide  riiedicine  for  himself 
and  captured  four  hundred  Dakota  horses  in  consequence. 

Of  the  stars  the  Morningstar  (i'g'e-rhxe)  and  the  Dipper  have 
religious  significance.  Mythologically  Old-Woman's-Grandson  is  the 
Sun's  son,  and  after  conquering  various  monsters  infesting  the  earth  he 
returns  to  the  sky  to  become  the  Morningstar.^  A  fair  number  of  Indians 
stated  that  Grandson  was  regularly  invoked  by  them.  Thus,  Little- 
rump  said  that  people  prayed  to  him  in  time  of  war  and  erected  sweat- 
lodges  in  his  honor.  According  to  Old-dog,  the  Crow  were  still  praying 
to  him  in  1913.  Others  denied  that  Grandson  was  ever  addressed  in 
supplication.  This  discrepancy  is  readily  intelligible  if^we  assume  that 
some  informants  simply  looked  upon  Grandson  as  the  hero  of  a  folk-tale 
without  paying  much  attention  to  his  ultimate  actual  transformation; 
while  with  others  the  identification  of  the  Morningstar  with  the  ogre- 
killer  and  his  relationship  to  the  Sun  were  in  the  foreground  of  conscious- 
ness. Assuming  the  former  attitude,  they  would  see  no  more  reason  for 
deifying  Grandson  than  other  mythic  heroes;  in  the  latter  case,  however, 
he  might  actually  acquire  an  important  position  in  the  rehgious  domain. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  identification  with  stars  of  the  twin  heroes, 
Spring-boy  and  Curtain-boy,^  in  one  version  of  their  myth  has  remained 
barren  of  any  religious  consequences. 

In  mythology  the  Morningstar  also  appears  without  any  suggestion 
of  affinity  with  Old-Woman's-Grandson.  It  is  further  noteworthy  that 
in  two  of  these  tales  he  is  worsted  by  human  heroes  who  have  received 
assistance  from  other  supernatural  powers.^ 

As  a  characteristic  sample  of  inconsistency  may  be  cited  the  con- 
ception of  one  informant  that  Sun,  Moon,  and  Morningstar  were  enemies 
and  that  if  one  of  them  adopted  an  Indian,  the  others  would  attempt  to 
get  him  and  eat  hun.  Morningstar  and  Sun,  according  to  this  authority, 
once  adopted  a  Crow  and  a  Dakota,  respectively.  The  latter  went  on 
the  warpath  but  was  killed  by  the  Crow,  whereupon  Morningstar  ate 
him.    On  another  occasion  Sun  and  Morningstar  bet  against  eacTi  other, 


•Lowie,  this  volume,  30  f . 
^ibi'i.,  57. 

3)67rf.,    8.=). 

*Lowie,  this  volume,  102  seq.,  200  seq. 


322  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

having  various  animals  play  shinuey  for  them  with  the  sunrise  and  sunset 
as  their  goals.  Sun's  players  were  on  the  east  side  and  included  the 
silver  fox,  coyote,  and  jackrabbit;  Morningstar's  players  were  in  the 
west  and  included  the  elk,  white-tail  and  black-tail  deer,  and  another 
deer  species  called  ii'xkdce.  During  the  game  both  Sun  and  Star  caused 
storms;  Star  made  the  snow  very  deep  so  that  the  httle  animals  could 
not  run.    At  last  the  elk,  being  long-winded,  won. 

The  sacred  Tobacco  about  which  center  the  performances  of  the 
Tobacco  society,  is  quite  generally  identified  with  the  stars,— sometimes 
it  would  seem  with  all  of  them  collectively,  then  again  more  specifically 
with  the  Morningstar. 

The  Dipper  (Vg  e-sd' pud  =  Seven  Stars)  is  mythologically  conceived 
as  a  group  of  seven  hmnan  brothers  who  had  become  displeased  with  their 
terrestrial  experiences  and  decided  to  change  their  shape  into  something 
that  should  last  forever.  At  the  close  of  their  discussion  they  decide  to 
transform  themselves  into  the  constellation.^  The  Dipper  not  infre- 
quently blessed  f  asters  with  a  vision :  Lone-tree  was  among  those  adopted 
by  them.^  The  Stars  often  appeared  painted  in  a  particular  way,  hold- 
ing a  pipe  or  with  wreaths  of  medicines,  which  they  turned  over  to  the 
visionary.  As  a  result  he  would  capture  horses  and  become  a  chief. 
One  Crow  said  that  one  of  the  Seven  Stars  is  blind  and  that  he  has  the 
greatest  power  of  them  all. 

The  Four  Winds  are  mentioned  as  recipients  of  smoke  offerings  but 
play  a  minor  part.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Thunder  (suo)  is  important 
both  mythologically  and  religiously.  As  usual,  he  is  identified  with  the 
eagle  (perhaps  more  commonly  with  the  bald-headed  eagle) .  In  myth  he 
is  represented  as  the  enemy  of  a  water-monster,  which  destroys  his  young 
but  is  overcome  with  the  aid  of  an  expert  hunter.^  Various  Indians  have 
been  adopted  by  the  Thunder,  among  them  Lone-tree  and  Big-ox,  both 
of  whom  were  still  ahve  in  1911. 

Another  mythic  personage  who  appeared  in  visions  is  the  uniformly 
benevolent  Dwarf,  who,  in  spite  of  his  diminutive  stature  is  represented 
as  very  powerful  physically.^ 

In  addition  to  the  mainly  cosmic  beings  described  above  there  are 
the  host  of  spirits — mostly  in  beast  or  bird  shape — who  appear  in  visions 
and  whose  characteristics  will  appear  more  clearly  from  the  account  in 
the  following  section. 

'ibid.,  126,  210,  211. 
^This  series,  vol.  16,  41. 
'This  volume,  144  seq. 
*ibid.,  165,  171  seq. 


VISIONS  AND  DREAMS. 

The  importance  of  visions  in  the  hfe  of  the  Crow  can  hardly  be 
overestimated.  Not  only  the  general  course  of  sacred  ceremonies  but 
even  such  details  as  particular  songs  or  specific  methods  of  painting  are 
traced  to  visions.  Through  them  it  was  possible  to  rise  from  abject 
poverty  to  affluence  and  social  prestige.  Even  war  parties  were,  at 
least  in  theory,  wholly  dependent  on  them,  for  a  man  organized  one  only 
when  prompted  by  a  vision  or  when  dispatched  by  another  man  who  had 
received  such  a  supernatural  communication.^  Since  success  in  life  was 
conceived  as  the  result  of  these  revelations,  probably  all  men  tried  to 
secure  a  vision,  though  many  of  them  failed.  Conversely,  lack  of  success 
was  attributed  to  lack  of  visions.  "All  who  had  visions,"  said  Little- 
rmnp,  "were  well-to-do;  I  was  to  be  poor  {watsecik'),  that  is  why  I  had 
no  visions."  However,  through  the  transferability  of  medicine  power  it 
became  possible  for  people  not  blessed  with  visions  to  participate  in  the 
benefits  accruing  from  such  experiences. 

The  native  term  for  'having  a  vision'  is  had'ri,  which  also  means  'to 
dream.'  One  informant  made  a  linguistic  distinction  to  correspond  to  the 
conceptual  one.  A  common  dream,  he  stated,  is  bar e-rdmm acne;  a 
vision  or  dream  with  visionary  import,  hare-wacfre.  Although  I  cannot 
analyze  the  second  portion  of  the  former  term,  it  is  clearly  for  the  most 
part  identical  with  the  word  for  vision;  and  my  impression  is  that  in 
ordinary  intercourse  no  verbal  differentiation  occurs,  though  conceptu- 
ally the  distinction  is  rigidly  maintained. 

There  were  various  methods  of  inducing  visions.  Gray-bull  re- 
counted the  following: — 

(1)  Some  went  to  the  mountains  and  fasted  there.  These  men 
would  generally  dream  of  guns,  coups,  and  horses. 

(2)  Some  dreamt  in  their  lodges.  These  usually  became  rich,  ac- 
quiring plenty  of  horses. 

(3)  Others,  usually  poor  people,  would  fall  asleep  somewhere  when 
very  tired  and  get  a  vision. 

(4)  Some  fasted  at  the  Tobacco  garden. 

(5)  The  Whistler  got  a  vision  at  the  Sun  dance;  so  did  those 
participants  in  the  ceremony  who  suspended  themselves  from  poles.' 

(6)  A  man  might  drag  a  buffalo  or  bear  skull  fastened  to  the  pierced 
skin  of  his  back;  or  would  lead  around  a  horse  similarly  secured  to  his 
body. 


'Lowie,  this  series,  vol.  9,  232. 
^Lowie,  this  series,  vol.  16,  44  f. 


323 


324  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

Gray-bull's  enumeration  is  corroborated  and  supplemented  by  the 
following  statements  secured  from  Scratches-face: — 

Some  had  dreams  while  out  lost  in  a  storm  at  night  or  under  similar  circumstances. 
In  these  dreams  beings  would  ccme  to  them  while  they  were  not  asleep  and  showed 
them  what  kind  of  medicine  to  have.  Others,  having  lost  a  sister  or  brother  or  some 
other  close  relative,  would  chop  off  a  finger  and  go  to  the  mountains  to  have  dreams. 
All  this  comes  from  Old-Woman's-Grandson.  In  their  dreams  they  would  see  a  bird 
or  some  other  animal  transformed  into  a  man  w^ho  had  painted  his  face  and  tied 
certain  feathers  to  his  head  and  would  tell  the  visionary  to  imitate  hipi.  Those  who 
herded  horses  would  stay  out  at  night  with  their  herd  and  sometimes  had  dreams  of 
horses.  Then  they  went  out  to  the  enemy  and  brought  back  so  many  head  of  horses. 
In  their  vision  they  would  see  a  horse  turn  into  a  man,  who  would  talk  to  the  dreamer. 
First  the  visionary  would  see  a  man  who  showed  him  some  medicine,  then  the  visitant 
would  turn  into  an  animal.  Those  who  dreamt  of  a  bear  were  not  shot  in  battles, 
or  even  if  they  were  shot,  the  arrows  or  bullets  would  fall  to  the  ground.  Badger 
dreams  are  the  same.  I  know  of  two  men  who  dreamt  of  a  badger.  One  of  them  would 
not  eat  the  young  of  any  animal.  I  saw  the  other  deliberately  shoot  himself  in  the 
breast,  but  the  bullet  fell  on  the  ground  and  he  was  not  killed.  Sometimes  people 
dreamt  of  stones  or  rocks;  these  would  be  like  the  bear  and  badger  dreamers.  Some- 
times the  bear  was  thought  to  be  a  real  bear,  sometimes  he  would  come  out  of  the 
clouds.  These  were  larger  than  real  bears,  I  don't  know  what  they  were.  Old- 
Woman's-Grandson  told  all  the  animals  to  help  the  people  of  the  earth,  and  that  is 
why  they  appeared  in  these  dreams.    The  animals  gave  power  to  these  Indians. 

Scratches-face's  views  on  Old-Woman's-Grandson  were  shared  by 
some  other  informants,  but  not  by  all  (see  p.  321).  It  will  be  noted  that 
he  assigns  a  specific  character  to  visions  of  bears,  badgers,  and  rocks,  to 
wit,  that  of  bestowing  immunity  to  missiles. 

Suspension  from  a  pole  after  the  fashion  observed  at  the  time  of  the 
Sun  dance  was  also  practised  on  other  occasions,  but  perhaps  less  fre- 
quently than  other  forms  of  self-torture.  Bear-crane  described  the  ex- 
perience of  a  visionary.  Red-bear,  who  used  this  method.  He  took  a 
stick,  went  up  into  the  mountains,  planted  his  stick  into  the  ground  and 
tied  a  rope  to  it.  In  the  morning  he  painted  himself  with  white  clay, 
cut  his  breast,  inserted  a  stick,  attached  the  rope  to  it,  and  ran  round 
the  post  all  day.  At  night  he  tore  out  the  skin  and  slept  on  the  mountain, 
dreaming  that  he  was  a  chief.  He  returned  to  the  Crow  and  announced 
his  vision.  He  had  dreamt  of  an  enemy  whom  he  had  slain  and  scalped. 
He  had  his  wife  make  moccasins  and  set  out  as  a  leader  of  a  war  party, 
consummating  his  vision. 

In  the  various  ways  of  gaining  supernatural  favor  may  be  recognized 
three  main  types:  the  visionary  may  receive  a  revelation  without  seeking 
one  or  enduring  any  hardship  whatsoever;  he  may  be  visited  by  super- 
natural beings  in  times  of  difficulty  without  a  deUberate  courting  of 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  325 

them;  and  he  may  go  in  quest  of  a  vision,  generally  subjecting  himself  to 
suffering  in  order  to  arouse  their  commiseration  and  thus  obtain  a  revela- 
tion. 

Painless  Visions. 

Men  who  received  unsought  supernatural  communications  of  im- 
portance without  being  placed  in  conditions  of  stress  were  relatively  few 
in  number  and  were  regarded  as  remarkably  fortunate  since  they  escaped 
the  necessity  of  torturing  themselves.  In  such  cases  the  Crow  use  the 
expression  hnwawd'tek'  (1st  person:  ba-wawi'tawak') ,  he  gets  something 
without  working.  One-blue-bead  offers  the  best  example  of  this  type  of 
vision,  and  his  narrative  follows: — 

When  I  was  a  boy  I  was  herding  horses.  I  took  them  to  the  water.  This  was  on  a 
flat.  I  lay  down  and  fell  asleep.  I  saw  something  mysterious  (maxpe  hmvdkdk'). 
In  those  days  if  Indians  wanted  anything  they  had  to  hunt  for  it.  When  I  got  this,  I 
struck  first  coups.  When  I  saw  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  I  tied  my  feather  to  the  back 
of  my  head,  and  then  captured  and  owned  horses. 

When  I  had  driven  my  horses  to  the  water  and  they  were  grazing,  I  fell  asleep. 
I  saw  a  person  on  a  white-maned  buckskin  horse;  his  face  was  painted  red,  also  there 
were  slanting  lines  from  the  eyes  down.  His  forehead  was  red.  He  had  a  buckskin 
shirt.  I  saw  the  feather  of  the  isirdxdipcire  (a  species  of  chicken-hawk)  tied  to  one  of 
liis  shoulders.  He, was  like  a  Crow  dressed  for  battle.  I  heard  a  voice  saying,  "Chief 
Chicken-hawk  is  coming  from  there  now."  He  came  riding  a  dark  bay.  His  horse's 
tail  was  wrapped.  This  is  the  name  I  gave  Jim  Carpenter's  little  girl.  Some  time 
later  I  heard  the  words  "Chicken-hawk  woman"  and  gave  this  name  to  my  grand- 
daughter. 

This  is  my  principal  medicine.  I  am  telling  the  truth.  This  is  a  fine  day.  You 
(R.  H.  L.)  will  have  good  luck. 

Other  people  have  to  torture  themselves;  I  never  cut  myself.  My  only  marks 
were  those  of  arrows  in  battle.  I  never  had  to  ask  any  one  else  for  medicine  like  other 
men.  Many  people  had  no  vision.  These  gave  lots  of  property  to  the  visionary  and 
might  get  a  vision  through  him.  Some  get  a  vision  even  in  their  own  tipi.  Somehow,. 
I  don't  know  how,  they  tell  a  vision  from  an  ordinary  dream.  A  common  dream 
bare  rdmmaclre)  and  medicine  dream  or  vision  {bare  wacVre)  are  quite  different. 

My  medicine  was  good  for  war.  I  took  it  with  me  on  the  warpath.  When  I 
saw  the  enemy,  I  sang  my  song  and  tied  it  to  my  back.    This  is  my  song: — 

mi  rakakam,  bowik. 

I  am  a  bird,  I  am  coming. 

When  at  home  I  stored  my  medicine;  in  dancing  and  sham  battles,  I  took  it  out. 
I  never  gave  it  to  anyone  else.  Just  lately  I  made  one  for  Andrew  Wallace.  He  asked 
me  for  one.  I  saw  no  use  for  it  as  we  have  no  more  wars,  but  I  gave  it  to  him  so  that 
he  might  have  good  luck  in  owning  horses. 

My  medicine  forbids  me  to  make  myself  bleed,  for  example  to  cut  off  my  fingers; 
and  if  meat  has  blood  on  it,  I  won't  eat  it.  At  the  time  of  my  vision  I  was  told  not  to 
eat  blood,  and  not  to  make  myself  bleed. 


326  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

When  I  was  a  boy,  I  was  poor.  I  saw  war  parties  come  back  with  leaders  in  front 
and  having  a  procession.  I  used  to  envy  them  and  made  up  my  mind  to  fast  and 
become  like  them.  When  I  saw.the  vision  I  got  what  I  had  longed  for.  I  always  was 
in  something  good  (some  good  war  deed).    I  killed  eight  enemies. 

Young  men  went  out  to  seek  visions  of  their  own  accord.  Before  going  they 
swam,  took  a  sweatbath,  and  rubbed  themselves  all  over  with  sagebrush.  Before 
sunrise  they  went  out,  taking  sage  and  ground-cedar  for  their  bedding,  for  all  the 
animals  liked  these  plants.  When  they  came  back  from  their  fast,  they  had  a  sweat- 
lodge  made  and  told  their  vision.  Unless  a  large  sudatory  was  seen  in  the  vision,  a 
small  one  was  used.  Visionaries  might  announce  their  vision  to  famous  men  either 
in  the  sweatlodge  or  at  a  feast. 

I  have  heard  some  say,  "I  had  a  vision  this  way,  but  I  hear  I  have  been  fooled." 
Some  can  tell  beforehand  when  they  are  going  to  die.  They  say,  "My  father  is  going 
to  take  me  back,"  then  thej^  die  soon  after.  The  only  thing  I  prayed  to  specially 
was  my  feather.    I  might  pray  to  the  Sun  any  time. 

On  another  occasion  this  informant  gave  a  shghtly  different  account, 
making  his  visitant  appear  as  a  hawk,  but  since  he  represents  himself 
as  awake  at  the  time  he  was  probably  referring  to  another  vision  from 
the  same  source.  The  hawk  would  sing  songs,  fly  up,  and  do  various 
things.  It  did  not  give  One-blue-bead  any  objects,  but  he  noted  the 
songs  and  actions  of  the  bird.  Afterwards  he  struck  three  coups,  this 
is  what  the  hawk  gave  him.  During  another  interview  One-blue-bead 
spoke  of  the  bird  as  having  changed  itself  into  a  young  man  mounted 
on  a  cream  bucksldn  horse  with  a  bird  of  its  own  kind  at  the  back  of  his 
head. 

One-blue-bead's  account  touches  on  a  number  of  vital  points.  In 
conformity  with  other  data  we  may  harmonize  the  himian  and  the  bird 
character  of  his  visitant  by  supposing  that  he  appeared  first  as  a  man, 
reveahng  his  identity,  however,  by  the  hawk  feather  and  in  vanishing 
assumed  bird  shape.  That  One-blue-bead  adopted  the  feather  seen  as  a 
tangible  representative  of  his  revelation,  is  highly  characteristic,  so  is  the 
tendency  to  confer  a  name  on  children  based  on  one's  visionary  experi- 
ences. Equally  significant  is  the  contrast  between  his  poverty  and  lack 
of  prominence  before  the  vision  and  his  later  martial  success  and  conse- 
quent social  distinction.  The  imposition  of  taboos,  often  of  a  quite 
fanciful  character,  such  as  that  against  eating  blood,  is  extremely  com- 
mon in  visions;  in  fact,  practically  all  such  regulations  are  traced  to  in- 
structions received  under  such  circumstances.  Finally,  may  be  noted  the 
expression  'my  father'  as  apphed  to  the  visitant.  It  is  generally  under- 
stood that  a  spirit  appearing  to  a  visionary  adopts  him  as  his  child ;  the 
standard  formula  being,  "di  harak'  Mwik;"  "You  (obj.)  my  child  I  will 
make."  Hence  the  constant  use  of  parent  and  child  terms  of  relation- 
ship in  the  myths  dealing  with  supernatural  patrons. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  327 

Arm-round-the-neck  had  twice  attempted  to  gain  a  vision  by  not 
drinking  water,  but  failed.  However,  he  was  fortunate  in  having  'dreams' 
while  sleeping.  I  cite  his  remarks  practically  verbatim  but  slightly  re- 
arranged so  as  to  bring  together  statements  bearing  on  the  same  ex- 
perience. 

I  had  dreams  while  sleeping.  I  saw  a  bear  and  a  horse  two  different  times;  also  a 
bird.  The  bear  I  saw  was  singing  to  some  people;  some  of  them  fell  down  while  he 
was  singing,  and  he  jumped  on  them.  He  held  his  arm  towards  the  people  while  sing- 
ing and  when  he  was  done  the  trees  and  brush  in  front  of  him  fell  down.  He  started 
toward  the  people  and  some  fell  down.  He  said,  "Of  everything  I  shall  have  plenty." 
Later  I  achieved  much  in  battles.  I  saw  his  face  paint  and  used  it.  I  also  made  a 
cap  of  bearskin  and  used  it.  Later  I  sold  it  to  a  man,  who  paid  me  four  kinds  of 
property,  among  them  a  woman,  for  it.  The  cap  was  frcm  the  head  of  a  bear  with 
the  ears  and  was  decorated  with  a  horse  tail  in  the  rear.  The  buyer  gave  me  a  blanket, 
earrings,  a  Navajo  breechcloth,  and  a  girl  never  previously  married.  My  mother's 
brother  had  the  bear  for  his  medicine  and  made  me  a  bearclaw  necklace;  that  may 
have  been  the  reason  for  my  dream.  I  like  a  bear  when  I  see  one,  but  if  I  wanted  the 
hide  I  should  kill  him;  I  killed  a  bear  in  order  to  make  my  cap. 

I  saw  the  horses  singing;  they  did  not  lie  to  me.  I  dreamt  someone  was  kicking 
my  foot  and  there  were  horses  all  round  me  with  ropes  to  their  necks  and  fastened  to 
my  body.  I  heard  someone  say,  "Wherever  you  go,  you  shall  have  horses."  Ever 
since  then  I  have  had  horses.  I  think  this  dream  was  given  me  by  dogs.  I  was  walk- 
ing, followed  by  several  dogs.  I  lay  down  under  a  tree  and  fell  asleep,  with  the  dogs 
lying  round  me  about  the  tent.  So  I  thought  they  took  pity  on  me  and  gave  me 
horses. 

I  saw  a  bird  singing.  I  saw  a  man  driving  a  herd  of  horses  with  this  bird  tied  to 
his  head  and  singing.    These  were  the  words  of  his  song: — 

com  barerok,  itsire  itsem  be  wik'. 

Wherever  I  go,  horse  a  good  one        I  shall  have. 

The  man  was  riding  a  pinto  horse.    I  heard  someone  say  to  me,  "When  he  does  that, 

he  brings  good  horses."    I  don't  know  where  this  dream  came  from. 

Another  way  of  getting  visions  is  to  go  out  hunting  and  have  dreams,  but  those 

obtained  from  thirsting  are  the  strongest:    the  men  who  fasted  became  chiefs  and 

were  lucky  at  everything. 

Arm-round-the-neck' s  narrative  is  interesting  for  several  reasons. 
For  one  thing,  it  expresses  the  behef  that  ordinary  dogs  possess  the 
power  of  granting  a  vision.  Secondly,  we  find  a  definite  rejection  of 
quasi-totemic  taboos  inasmuch  as  Arm-round-the-neck  did  not  scruple 
to  kill  bears.  On  this  point  the  attitude  of  the  natives  varies  somewhat, 
but  all  agreed  that  no  man  who  had  dreamt  of  buffalo  would  for  that 
reason  refrain  from  kilUng  or  eating  them.  Finally,  the  transfer,  as  it 
were,  of  the  bear  medicine  from  a  clansman  is  noteworthy,  since  in  other 
cases  medicines  are  known  to  have  descended  from  father  to  son. 


328  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

Old-dog  had-  never  gone  out  to  fast  but  had  dreamt  while  sleeping 
in  his  tent.  He  dreamt  of  the  Tobacco.  Another  dream,  however,  is 
indirectly  derived  from  a  vision.  His  brother  had  fasted  and  seen  a 
little  axiaxipe  (kind  of  buzzard?),  which  appeared  in  human  guise, 
painted  his  face,  and  sang  against  the  enemy.  He  gave  Old-dog  his 
medicine  power  with  four  feathers  of  this  bird,  and  Old-dog  subsequently 
dreamt  of  taking  a  gun  from  the  enemy  and  striking  him.  He  attributes 
the  dream  to  his  brother's  medicine.  Thereafter,  when  he  saw  the  enemy, 
my  informant  painted  his  face,  tied  the  feathers  to  his  head,  sang  towards 
the  enemy,  and  would  take  a  gun  or  strike  a  first  coup. 

Young-crane  told  of  a  man  named  He-calls-fat  {irdpi'tsec)  who  had 
been  visited  by  the  Dipper  while  awake  and  sitting  down.  He  would 
send  out  captains  of  war  parties  and  bid  them  bring  horses  and  other 
booty.  The  Seven  Stars  told  him  they  would  take  him  back  when  he  was 
going  to  die.    He  told  his  people  he  had  to  die  soon  and  it  came  true. 

Bull-all-the-time,  who  secured  a  martial  vision  through  torture  and 
fasting,  was  also  blessed  with  another  for  doctoring  while  he  was 
asleep  in  his  tipi.  He  saw  a  horse  fastened  to  a  rope,  which  was  length- 
ened up  to  him.  He  heard  a  person  sing.  The  horse  was  a  sign  that  my 
informant  would  get  horses  as  fees  for  his  cures.  He  was  told  that  if 
anyone  fell  sick  he  was  to  doctor  him.  He  saw  an  old  man  decorated 
with  red  paint  and  holding  a  pipe  in  his  hand.  This  man  was  standing 
over  the  recumbent  patient  and  blew  through  a  pipestem  over  him.  The 
sick  man  rose  and  then  sat  down.  Bull-all-the-time  saw  all  the  sickness 
come  out  of  the  patient's  blood  and  saw  him  get  well.  Bull-all-the-time 
showed  me  the  pipestem  he  had  dreamt  of;  it  had  a  horse's  track  incised 
near  one  end. 

Gray-bull  recounted  the  following  as  an  experience  of  his  grand- 
father's while  awake  in  his  tent : — 

A  white-headed  bird  sat  at  the  door,  looked  round  and  hopped  inside  to  the  side 
of  the  lodge  opposite  the  visionary,  whose  wife  was  away  at  the  time.  My  grandfather 
looked  at  the  bird,  which  merely  sat  there.  He  looked  again,  and  it  had  turned  into  a 
man  with  painted  face  and  on  his  head  was  a  bird  of  the  kind  seen  before.  He  sang  a 
song  and  at  its  close  he  said,  "I'll  come  tomorrow  and  see  you  again  with  my  wife. 
You  have  seen  what  I  wanted  you  to  see.  I  was  going  to  let  you  see  many  things, 
but  your  wife  is  coming."  When  he  had  said  this,  he  was  a  bird  once  more  and  went 
out.  My  grandfather  went  after  him  and  saw  him  flying  up  the  river.  His  wife  got 
to  the  tent.  She  had  seen  the  bird.  When  she  had  brought  in  the  firewood,  she  asked 
her  husband,  "What  is  that  bird  I  saw  coming  out  of  the  tent?  What  is  it?"  "I 
don't  know." 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  329 

The  next  day  he  went  for  horses.  When  he  returned,  his  wife  was  looking  for 
wood.  The  people  were  going  to  camp  there  for  four  days.  The  woman  cooked.  He 
ate  and  told  his  wife  to  get  three  or  four  packs  of  wood  so  she  might  stay  away  longer. 
She  went  for  the  wood.  He  lay  on  his  bed  and  watched  the  door.  A  bird  came  in  and 
hopped  where  he  sat  and  another  followed.  Both  sat  on  the  other  side  of  the  tipi  and 
looked  somewhere.  One  turned  into  a  man,  the  other  into  a  woman.  The  man  said 
to  the  woman:  "Give  one  song  to  my  child."  "All  right."  My  grandfather  sat  up, 
and  the  woman  sang.  When  she  had  finished,  the  man  said  to  my  grandfather,  "Look 
at  me."  He  did.  His  face  was  painted  as  before  and  a  bird  was  tied  to  his  head.  "I 
have  given  you  one  song  already,  that  is  my  only  song.  Whenever  I  want  to  use  this 
bird  on  my  head,  I  let  a  woman  tie  it  and  think  at  the  same  time  that  the  enemy  can- 
not shoot  me."  The  woman  said:  "I  have  plenty  of  things  and  horses,  and  whenever 
I  meet  enemies  they  are  easily  captured.  This  is  all."  They  changed  into  birds 
again,  hopped  to  the  door  and  went  out.  Until  then  my  grandfather  had  done  nothing 
in  war  and  his  joking  relatives  made  fun  of  him.  He  had  not  even  gone  out  with  war 
parties. 

Some  time  after  this  my  grandfather  saw  someone  kill  one  of  these  birds  and  asked 
the  slayer  to  give  him  the  body.  He  cut  off  its  head  and  tail,  also  the  wing  bone  for  a 
whistle,  and  took  them  home  with  him.  He  called  in  all  the  chiefs.  When  all  were  in, 
his  wife  roasted  some  ribs  and  when  they  were  through  eating  he  made  them  smoke. 
One  asked  what  this  was  for.  He  asked  them  to  tell  him  how  they  dreamt  and  got 
medicines.  All  told  how  they  had  fasted  and  dreamt.  When  all  had  had  their  say, 
he  said  he  was  going  to  make  his  medicine,  but  found  out  that  it  was  not  good,  that  is, 
not  like  any  they  had  told.  The  chiefs  asked  him  to  tell  about  it.  He  told  them  that 
into  his  very  tent  two  birds  had  come  and  shown  him  something,  bidding  him  make 
whatever  he  saw.  He  asked  whether  they  knew  anything  like  that  to  have  been  seen 
by  a  Crow  before.  They  told  him  to  make  his  medicine,  to  sew  together  the  head  and 
the  tail  of  the  bird.  When  he  had  done  so,  he  sang  the  songs  the  bird-man  had  sung 
for  him,  telling  his  wife  to  sit  and  sing  with  him.  After  they  were  through,  he  told  his 
visitors  to  see  how  it  should  turn  out.  He  told  all  the  chiefs  he  was  going  to  take  care 
of  the  entire  tribe  thereafter,  that  was  why  he  made  medicine.  He  gave  them  more 
to  eat;  they  smoked  and  went  out.  The  chiefs  said  to  one  another,  "We'll  see  how 
it  comes  out,  it  is  great  medicine  that  he  has  made." 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  There  were  about  forty  enemies  in  a  trench  that 
fall.  My  grandfather  came  on  a  white  horse,  his  face  painted  like  that  of  the  man  in 
the  dream,  and  the  medicine  tied  to  his  head.  He  asked  the  Crow  fighters  whether 
anyone  had  struck  a  coup,  then  went  to  the  coulee  where  were  the  enemy.  He  got  to 
the  bank  and  went  to  one  of  the  enemy,  who  shot  my  grandfather,  singeing  his  hair. 
He  took  away  a  gun  from  the  enemy,  laid  it  down,  and  went  to  the  next  man,  who  had 
a  bow.  This  one  broke  the  string  of  his  bow.  My  grandfather  took  the  bow  and 
arrow  away  from  him  and  went  back.  The  people  then  knew  his  medicine  to  be  true. 
After  that  he  kept  on  striking  coups  and  became  a  chief.  He  made  one  bird  medicine 
for  his  son,  who  also  became  chief.  The  birds  were  real  birds,  and  they  themselves 
gave  the  medicine.    The  Crow  believe  the  birds  themselves  have  medicine  powers. 

It  will  be  seen  later  that  the  medicine  was  subsequently  transmitted 
to  Gray-bull  himself  and  determined  one  of  his  fasting  visions  Cp. 
336). 


330        Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

In  the  foregoing  narrative  the  fact  that  supernatural  powers  are 
ascribed  to  the  birds  themselves  is  noteworthy.  It  tallies  with  certain 
statements  of  various  informants,  e.g.,  Arm-round-the-neck's  comments' 
on  the  vision  granted  by  dogs  (p.  327),  but  is  contradicted  by  others,  who 
regard  the  animals  as  mere  messengers  of  potent  spirits.  Presumably 
v\e  here  have  to  reckon  with  individual  differences  of  interpretation. 
Another  feature  of  importance  is  the  patrilineal  transmission  of  the 
medicine  (but  compare  p.  335) .  Finally,  the  pragmatic  test  of  the  value 
of  a  vision  is  highly  characteristic. 

It  is  clear  that  some  of  these  painless  visions  were  reckoned  on  a 
par  with  those  for  which  suffering  was  undergone,  but  this  does  not 
apply  to  all  cases.  For  example,  Little-rump,  who  speaks  of  himself  as 
having  tried  to  get  visions  but  failed,  did,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  get  un- 
sought communications  from  the  Yellow  Tobacco,  though  obviously  he 
does  not  regard  them  as  comparable  in  worth  to  those  of  others,  presum- 
ably because  in  spite  of  them  he  has  remained  poor.  He  hears  the 
Tobacco  sing  songs.  "Some  of  them  I  consider  sacred.  When  I  hear  a 
song  and  have  good  luck  immediately  after  that,  then  I  consider  the 
song  sacred." 

Unsought  Stress  Visions. 

Another  category  of  visions,  though  not  formally  recognized  as 
such  by  the  natives,  includes  experiences  not  deliberately  sought  but 
undergone  in  times  of  stress  or  under  other  conditions  out  of  the  ordinary. 
One  of  Lone-tree's  visions  may  be  reckoned  of  this  class  since  it  was  ob- 
tained during  his  flight  from  the  enemy : — 

We  went  against  the  Dakota ;  there  were  nine  of  us.  I  was  still  young  and  some- 
one else  was  captain.  I  did  the  scouting  every  day.  We  got  to  the  camp  but  the 
Dakota  discovered  us  and  we  ran  away  in  different  directions,  five  one  way,  three 
besides  myself  another  way.  The  Dakota  caught  only  the  former  and  killed  them  all. 
The  rest,  all  young  boys,  got  home  in  safety.  Far  this  side  of  Bismarck,  North 
Dakota,  I  thought  of  swimming  the  Missouri.  Just  before  we  got  to  the  river,  while 
still  among  the  rocky  hills,  we  saw  big  heavy  clouds  presaging  a  thunderstorm.  I  bade 
the  others  seek  shelter  under  rocks,  saying,  "I'll  watch  for  a  while."  As  I  was  seated 
on  a  rock,  I  watched  the  hailstorm  coming  and  saw  the  lightning  quite  near  me. 
When  the  storm  got  very  close,  I  thought  I  should  also  seek  shelter.  Before  I  got 
up  I  saw  a  big  bird  coming  down  from  among  the  clouds.  His  color  was  white  and  he 
was  as  large  as  the  white  building  at  the  Mission.  His  head  faced  south.  In  descend- 
ing to  the  ground  he  made  no  noise.  I  saw  him  plainly.  The  lightning  came  from  his 
eyes.  He  sat  down  on  the  ground.  As  soon  as  he  did  so,  we  could  see  smoke  as  though 
from  an  engine.  The  hailstorm  did  not  come  near  but  left  a  circle  free  round  the  bird 
and  me.  I  watched  the  eagle  going  back  up  into  the  clouds.  He  said,  'T  live  up  in  the 
heavens,  I  am  going  to  adopt  you,  that  is  why  I  came. down.    Whatever  you  ask  for, 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  331 

we  shall  hear  you . "  Each  hailstone  was  as  big  as  a  fist.  That  evening  we  crossed  the 
Missoiiri.  This  was  the  first  time  I  dreamt  about  him.  The  second  night  I  heard  the 
hailstones  caUing  ore  another  and  saying,  "Whatever  you  shall  ask,  we  shall  do  it  for 
you.    I  am  the  High  Thunder  (sua)." 

Lone-tree  got  large  white  beads  for  a  necklace  to  represent  the 
hailstones. 

Three-wolves  in  referring  to  Lone-tree's  experience  added  the  detail 
that  the  lightning  struck  the  lake  and  something  came  out  of  it.  Then 
Lone-tree  saw  a  taloned  bird  as  large  as  a  tree  flying  from  cloud  to  cloud 
and  saying,  "If  you  shall  go  to  a  flat  rock,  I  will  see  you."  Lone-tree 
was  afraid  to  go;  nevertheless  he  considered  the  Thunder  his  medicine 
and  henceforth  carried  the  head  of  a  bald-headed  eagle  with  him  (see 
below,  p.  335).  When  Short-bull  offended  him,  Lone-tree  said,  "You  will 
nearly  die  this  summer."  Short-bull  was  struck  by  hghtning,  but  was 
not  killed.  Sometimes  Lone-tree  would  take  a  big  white  bead  (evidently 
from  the  necklace  mentioned  above),  put  it  on  a  child's  head  and  make 
hail.  He  could  stop  a  storm  and  also  cause  rain.  Big-ox  had  the  same 
power. 

Instances  of  this  type  of  supernatural  experience  occur  repeatedly 
in  the  myths.  For  example,  a  man  and  his  wife  reduced  to  extreme  des- 
titution through  the  husband's  faiUng  eyesight  are  suddenly  visited  by 
the  Moon,  who  bids  them  send  out  young  men  on  a  horse  raid;  the  raid 
is  successful  and  the  impoverished  couple  become  wealthy.  Again-,  a 
young  woman  who  has  been  bhnded,  crippled,  and  abandoned  by  her 
husband  is  doctored  by  a  white-tailed  deer  and  an  owl,  while  the  compas- 
sionate brother-in-law  who  provided  her  wants  till  his  strength  is  ex- 
hausted is  aided  by  a  snake-man.  Similarly,  a  benevolent  dwarf  rescues 
from  starvation  a  poor  young  man  and  his  sweetheart,  who  have  been 
driven  away  by  the  camp  tyrant.^  Sometimes  the  supernatural  beings 
are  explicitly  represented  as  cognizant  of  the  visionary's  distress  and 
attempting  to  relieve  it  either  in  person  or  through  a  messenger.  The 
dwarf's  wife  chides  him  for  his  dilatoriness  in  succoring  the  sufferer: 
"'Bring  my  son  soon,'  I  said,  you  have  done  it  late,  they  almost 
died."  The  snake-man  says  to  his  protege:  "I  pitied  you  long  ago,  but 
never  reached  you."  In  the  legend  of  Big-iron  the  hero  has  been  aban- 
doned by  his  cruel  stepfather  and  a  supernatural  being  in  the  guise  of  an 
old  man  sends  mountain-sheep  to  bring  him  to  his  island.^ 


ithis  volume,  186, 190, 171. 
Hbid.,  291. 


332         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.       [Vol.  XXV, 

Sought  Visions. 

We  may  now  turn  to  cases  in  which  there  was  a  dehberate  quest  of 
a  revelation.  These  were  probably  the  most  numerous,  but  by  no  means 
all  attempts  to  secure  visions  met  with  success,  as  has  already  been  noted. 
Little-rump,  e.g.,  often  tried  to  get  a  vision  but  invariably  failed.  Some- 
times the  quest  was  abandoned  from  exhaustion  or  fear.  A  female  in- 
formant, e.g.,  went  out  to  fast  for  three  days  when  mourning  a  deceased 
relative,  but  left  after  the  second  day  because  she  suddenly  saw  a  grave 
she  had  not  previously  noticed.  Being  afraid  of  the  dead,  she  went  off 
before  the  close  of  the  period  set  by  herself. 

There  was  no  lunitation  either  as  to  age  or  sex,  so  far  as  seeking  a 
vision  was  concerned.  Little  boys  sometimes  fasted,  not  because  their 
parents  had  urged  them  but  probably  because  they  had  listened  to  others 
talking  about  visions  and  desired  to  try  it  for  themselves.  On  the  other 
hand,  middle-aged  and  even  old  men  would  go  out  fasting.  Young  girls 
did  not  seek  visions,  but  when  older  they  might  and  did.  Usually  this 
happened  when  a  relative  had  been  killed  by  the  enemj'^  or  even  died  a 
natural  death.  Thus,  Young-crane  chopped  off  a  finger  joint  when  her 
first  husband  was  killed  and  fasted  for  two  days  after  her  daughter's 
decease,  though  without  receiving  a  revelation.  It  is  true,  however,  that 
the  number  of  would-be  male  visionaries  Avas  greater  than  that  of  the 
women,  and  that  it  was  commonly  adolescent  men  who  were  eager  to 
get  a  communication  that  should  enable  them  to  gain  martial  glory  and 
consequent  prestige. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  according  to  all  infoimants  there  was  no  ex- 
ternal prompting  of  the  youth  to  undergo  the  rigors  of  fasting  and 
self-torture :  he  went  out  because  of  the  tales  heard  about  the  camp-fire 
and  because  he  observed  the  success  of  those  who  had  gone  and  obtained 
revelations. 

The  principal  methods  of  inducing  a  vision  have  already  been  enum- 
erated. Doubtless  the  most  usual  was  to  fast  and  thirst  for  several  days, 
a  procedure  designated  as  hirictsandud,  (not  drinking  water).  The 
would-be  visionary  generally  retired  to  a  lonety  peak,  theoretically  for 
four  days,  in  consonance  with  the  mystic  notions  clustering  about  that 
nunfibei',  possibly  in  addition  chopping  off  a  finger-joint  as  an  offering  to 
conciliate  the  spirits  invoked.  That  these  might  differ  as  to  identity, 
has  already  been  set  forth,  though  the  Sun  or  Old-Man-Coyote  was 
most  frequently  addressed.  The  faster  was  virtually  naked,  using  a 
buffalo  skin  f  or  a  blanketat  night.  Accordingto  Flat-head-woman,  he  would 
lie  on  his  back  with  legs  stretched  out,  the  arms  extended  at  the  sides  and 
facing  east  all  night;  his  bedding  was  framed  by  rocks  on  both  sides. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  333 

Before  citing  accounts  of  individual  visions  it  may  be  well  to  quote 
some  generic  remarks  by  White-arm: — 

Of  my  contemporaries  I  take  the  lead  in  visionary  ejqjeriences.  Parents  did  not 
tell  children  to  go  out  if  they  were  well  off.  But  if  they  were  poor,  a  boy  would  decide 
not  to  remain  so  but  to  go  out,  fast,  and  thereby  come  to  own  property.  Strips  of 
flesh  were  cut  off  and  placed  on  a  buffalo  chip,  and  some  such  prayer  as  the  following 
was  addressed  to  the  Sun : — 

kahe,     isa'kaxaria,  (raising  the  buffalo  chip),     bi  watseck'atem,     mi     arakak". 
Hallo,      old  Old  Man,  I  am  poor,  me      you  see, 

ma+itsem        bakiV.      mi'       xarie,       itsirem      bgwi,       Qwut'baraxia      burutsiwi, 
something  good      give  me.     Me       makeold,      ahorse     maylhave,     gun  may  I  take, 

dakce         maritbi.         ml      batsetsi,         mi  k'ua  ml  wiraxbSki  makurua 

a  coup        may  I  strike.        I  a  chief,  I  without  help     may  I  become  a  person       plenty 

(make  a  living) 

WEwi. 
may  I  have. 

The  Sun's  name,  dx'ace,  maj'  be  used  in  crying  for  a  vision;  in  mourning  the 
diminutive  dxack'at  is  used.  Any  name  pertaining  to  a  father,  father's  clansman,  or 
grandfather,  may  be  applied  to  the  Sun.    The  Sun's  name  may  be  used  in  cursing, 

e.g.:— 

ax'ac  bakO,  To  the  sun  I  have  given  him,  or  (emphatically) :  ax'ac  bakace,  To 
the  Sun  I  have  verily  given  him. 

If  a  man  wants  a  horse,  he  will  cut  out  a  piece  of  his  flesh  in  the  shape  of  a  horse- 
shoe. The  morning  before  going  out  he  swims,  takes  a  clean  robe,  and  at  daybreak 
goes  to  the  hill  selected  for  fasting.  When  the  sun  came  up,  I  made  my  cut.  Some- 
times this  is  done  on  the  second  day.  Some  stayed  out  four  days.  I  stayed  two  days 
or  one  day.  A  forked  stick  is  planted  the  evening  before  the  sacrifice.  An  old  man  is 
sought  to  pray  for  the  young  man.  He  paints  the  young  man  with  white  clay,  prays 
to  the  sun  and  pierces  the  taster's  breasts  or  the  body  near  the  shoulder  parts  and 
fastens  him  to  the  forked  stick.  The  would-be  visionary  runs  round  the  stick  and  the 
old  man  goes  home.  When  tired,  the  visionary-  sits  down,  then  runs  round  again. 
Some  break  the  flesh,  others  do  not.  In  the  evening,  the  old  man  comes  and  cuts  at 
the  edge  of  the  dried  flesh,  then  leaves  the  young  man.  He  shows  the  dried  flesh  to  the 
Sun  and  prays  anew,  while  the  visionary  sleeps  there  again  during  the  night.  Any 
time  at  night  a  vision  might  be  seen.  First  we  see  a  person  in  a  vision  or  dream,  but  a 
few  days  later,  perhaps  while  we  are  sleeping,  the  person  seen  is  recognized  as  some 
particular  animal  that  had  changed  into  a  person.  Sometimes  they  found  out  directly 
through  the  song.  In  the  song  the  visitant  might  say,  "I  am  a  snake"  (or  buffalo,  or 
horse,  etc.)  If  a  man  has  a  visicn  cf  a  .sr,ake,  all  srakes  will  be  fathers  to  him. 
Some  would  pick  up  a  snake  after  such  a  vision,  saying,  "darnke  blk' ;"  (I  am  your 
son),  and  the  snake  would  not  bite  him. 

Some  were  adopted  by  a  bear.  While  they  were  asleep  at  home  some  one  might 
strike  the  sole  of  a  visionary's  foot,  then  he  would  awake,  make  a  noise  like  a  bear, 
and  a  bear's  tooth  would  come  out  of  his  mouth.  This  is  one  way  of  knowing  the 
species  of  the  animal  giving  the  vision. 

People  who  have  seen  a  snake,  do  not  kill  snakes.  I  don't  know  how  bear 
visionaries  act  in  this  regard.  The  latter  put  red  paint  from  the  eyes  down  the  face  in 
slanting  lines  and  knot  their  hair  to  imitate  bear's  ears,  and  use  a  bearskin  for  a 


334         Anthropological  Papers  Aynerican  Museum  of  Natural  History.       [Vol.  XXV, 

blanket.  Bear  people  when  in  a  trance  {kaxutuk)  use  isk  (Joe  Cooper  says,  wild 
parsnip)  incense,  then  they  will  come  to.  Strong  men  catch  these  entranced  ones  from 
behind,  for  they  try  to  bite  and  act  like  bears.  They  may  go  into  a  trance  whenever 
the  sole  of  their  feet  or  their  face  is  struck. 

Sometimes  the  Sun  himself  appeared  to  the  visionary,  but  mostly  animals  came. 
These  I  do  not  think  are  related  to  the  Sun  at  all.  When  men  are  praying,  the  Sun  is 
first  thought  of,  but  generally  other  beings  appear.  After  returning  from  a  quest,  the 
faster  made  a  sweatlodge  and  all  the  famous  people  were  called  in ;  while  they  were 
assembled  in  the  sweatlodge  the  visionary  told  his  vision,  and  the  audience  afterwards 
told  the  other  people.  Srake  visionaries  are  mostly  doctors,  e.g.,  Flat-dog;  the  snake 
tells  them  how  to  treat  the  sick.  Some  would  smell  the  incense  in  a  vision  and  thus 
know  what  weed  to  use  for  medicine. 

Some  are  deceived  by  visions,  go  out  on  the  warjjath,  and  get  killed,  but  not  many 
are  fooled  about  doctoring.  Wraps-up-his-tail  slept  near  Sheridan,  had  visions,  and 
told  everyone,  yet  he  was  killed.  Sometimes  everything  told  in  a  vision  is  false; 
perhaps  some  animal  plays  the  part  of  another.  It  never  happened  that  old  men 
detected  the  deceit  in  a  vision  and  warned  the  visionary  when  he  told  them.  They  only 
find  out  from  what  happens  later. 

It  is  clear  that  White-arm's  final  remarks  completely  corroborate 
Gray-bull's  account  as  to  the  testing  of  a  vision  by  the  visionary's 
subsequent  success.  The  quasi-totemic  attitude  ascribed  to  snake  vision- 
aries was  certainly  not  shared  by  other  Indians,  as  already  pointed  out. 
My  informant's  statement  regarding-  the  Sun  is  significant  and  agrees 
with  data  secured  from  some  of  my  most  trustworthy  authorities. 
That  is  to  say,  the  Sun  as  the  most  dominant  single  figure  in  the  native 
religious  consciousness  is  supplicated  in  the  first  instance,  but  rarely 
appears.  Instead  there  come  other  beings  "not  related"  to  the  Sun, 
which  presumably  means  not  dispatched  by  him  but  independently 
taking  pity  on  the  faster's  distress. 

From  these  general  remarks  we  may  now  tm-n  to  some  individual 
accounts.  I  will  begin  with  Lone-tree,  who  had  other  supernatural 
revelations  besides  the  one  that  came  unsought  from  the  Thunder. 

Once  I  went  on  a  high  mountain  and  cut  off  a  strip  of  my  flesh  with  a  knife. 
When  I  had  fasted  for  three  days  and  nights  I  saw  the  Dipper.  It  was  towards 
morning.  The  Dipper  gave  me  a  little  food,  sitting  down  beside  me  as  a  man  and 
saying  he  had  brought  me  some  food  because  I  was  hungry.  "What  you  are  eating  is 
human  flesh,"  said  the  Dipper  after  giving  me  the  food.  I  did  not  know  it  was  the 
Dipper,  but  something  at  the  back  of  my  head  was  whispering  to  me,  "The  man 
giving  you  food  is  the  Dipper."  After  he  had  told  me  that  the  food  was  human  I 
could  not  swallow  it  but  vomited  what  I  had  eaten.  Then  the  Dipper  rose  and 
walked  off.  I  looked  and  saw  his  long  braided  hair  hanging  down  in  the  back,  and 
on  the  long  queue  were  the  Seven  Stars.  Then  I  believed  that  it  was  the  Dipper. 
The  next  morning  I  got  home. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  335 

During  the  winter  I  cut  scars  on  my  arms  and  went  into  the  hills.  There  was  a 
clump  of  trees  and  on  one  of  them  there  was  a  nest.  Not  knowing  that  it  belonged 
to  the  Bald-headed  Eagle,  I  lay  down.  At  night  it  stormed  violently.  I  slept  and 
dreamt  I  was  in  a  big  lodge  and  saw  the  Bald-headed  Eagle  sitting  there.  I  was  told 
that  the  Dakota  were  my  only  enemies  and  that  I  was  to  be  a  captain.  It  came  true 
and  I  defeated  the  Dakota  about  ten  times.    People  said  I  was  the  best  captain. 

The  Bald-headed  Eagle  of  this  vision  is  undoubtedly  connected  with 
the  Thunder  (see  above). 

Big,-ox,  one  of  the  most  famous  shamans  of  recent  times  (see  p.  344), 
had  become  feeble-minded  when  I  knew  him  and  only  supplied  a  very 
fragmentary  account  of  his  visions: — 

I  slept  on  a  mountain  and  chopped  off  a  joint  of  my  little  finger.  I  saw  a  bird, 
which  made  me  a  chief .  The  birds  sat  round  me;  they  had  human  heads.  Five  balls 
of  different  color  were  in  front  of  me,  one  of  them  pure  white.  I  sat  there  and  some  of 
the  birds  vanished  without  my  knowing  it  until  only  one  sat  by  me.  This  last  one  told 
me  I  should  be  a  great  chief  and  that  he  would  not  forget  me.  "We  shall  constantly 
watch  you."    He  repeated  this  twice.    He  flew  away  without  my  seeing  him  go. 

I  saw  the  No-drum  (bira'xdete)  dance  in  the  daytime  in  the  Wolf  Mountains.  A 
white  woman  and  a  white  man  gave  me  the  vision  and  a  Crow  spoke  to  me  in  Crow. 
They  gave  me  the  stick  I  carry  around,  painted  yellow  and  decorated  with  bells  and 
feathers. 

Owing  to  his  latter  experience,  dating  from  the  period  of  his  senility, 
for  which  reason  no  one  but  himseh  took  it  seriously,  Big-ox  was  nick- 
named No-drum  in  the  last  years  of  his  Ufe.  It  is  not  clear  whether  he 
underwent  any  suffering  in  this  case  or  received  his  revelation  unsought. 

Flat-dog  once  went  out  to  fast  and  get  a  vision.  He  had  his  back 
pierced  and  a  horse  tied  to  it,  while  on  the  other  side  he  attached  a  war- 
bonnet  to  his  pierced  skin.  Towards  evening  the  horse  got  restless, 
being  thirsty,  and  jerked  Flat-dog's  skin.  Then  he  pulled  out  the  stick 
to  which  the  horse  was  tied  and  freed  him.  He  fell  asleep  at  night,  tired 
out  with  his  exertions  and  as  good  as  dead.  He  saw  a  man  come  to 
him,  who  said,  "Now  you  will  remain  alive  a  long  time,  you  are  poor 
now,  you  will  be  a  person.  I'll  keep  you  a  person  for  a  long  time  {di 
wirdxhike  de-md-wi-ma'sik').''  Flat-dog  added:  "Today  people  speak 
of  me  as  old,  then  I  tliink  of  this  statement.  My  face  was  covered, 
nevertheless  I  saw  the  person." 

One  of  Gray-bull's  experiences  forms  an  interesting  sequel  to  his 
grandfather's  vision  (p.  329).  Before  dying  the  grandfather  had  given 
his  medicine  to  Gray-bull's  mother,  bidding  her  turn  it  over  to  her  son 
when  he  should  be  a  young  man.  He  still  had  the  medicine  at  the  time  of 
my  interview  with  him.    His  narrative  follows: — 


336         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  Histonj.       [Vol.  XXV, 

I  fasted  with  this  medicine  and  got  a  dream.  I  saw  a  bird  flying  over  me  in  a 
circle.  It  descended  and  went  down  into  a  canyon  whistling.  On  both  sides  there 
were  rocks.  The  rocks  began  to  shoot  at  the  bird  but  failed  to  hit  it,  so  that  it  came 
out  imhurt.  It  had  nothing  tied  to  its  head  and  when  I  heard  shooting  from  the 
rocks  I  did  not  see  anything  either.  The  bird  had  a  white  head  and  tail.  I  did  not 
know  that  I  could  not  be  shot  till  long  afterwards.  I  was  never  shot.  I  kept  my 
dreams  secret,  for  I  was  afraid  if  I  told  them  I  might  get  shot.  Once  many  Piegan 
were  lying  under  a  pine  tree.  One  was  some  distance  in  front  of  us.  We  started  out 
toward  the  Piegan.  He  shot  at  me  when  I  was  just  above  him  but  did  not  hit  me. 
My  horse  went  round  as  though  dizzy  and  ran  off.  That  night  I  dreamt  and  someone 
said  to  me,  "Don't  you  know  that  you  cannot  be  shot?" 

The  conceptions  involved  in  this  vision  recall  corresponding  Hidatsa 
usages  by  which  sacred  objects  descended  from  father  to  son  and  where 
the  blessing  of  a  vision  was  expected  from  the  spirits  associated  with  the 
paternal  bundle.  The  tenor  of  the  vision,  i.e.,  the  appearance  of  a 
person  shot  at  but  remaining  unscathed  is  very  common  and  should  be 
compared  with  Scratches-face's  as  well  as  with  some  legendary  experi- 
ences.^ 

The  same  informant  had  another  experience,  which  is  described 

below: — 

I  rose  before  sunrise,  got  my  horse  ready  and  went  to  Long-horse,"^  my  father's 
clansman,  and  asked  him  to  help  me.  So  we  went  out  before  sunrise.  I  gave  him 
four  presents.  He  painted  my  bod.y  with  white  clay  and  sang  a  song,  telling  a  few  of 
his  warlike  exploits,  then  he  pierced  my  shoulder  with  an  arrow,  inserted  a  stick  and 
tied  a  horse  to  it;  to  the  other  shoulder  he  fastened  a  shield  and  some  other  medicine. 
They  moved  camp  that  morning.  I  followed,  leading  the  horse.  During  the  day  the 
horse  got  continually  more  and  more  unruly,  getting  hungry  and  thirsty.  After  a 
while  I  turned  to  look  at  him  and  saw  a  stripe  on  one  of  his  legs;  had  I  seen  two 
stripes  I  should  have  become  a  greater  chief.  I  stopped  there  for  the  night  and  Long- 
horse  came  to  free  the  horse  and  remove  the  medicine.  I  did  not  go  back  to  camp, 
but  stayed  out  and  when  I  slept  I  dreamt.  I  saw  a  gray  horse  with  a  stripe  on  his  leg 
standing  in  the  very  spot  where  Long-horse  had  removed  the  medicine.  Someone 
talked  behind  me,  saying,  "This  horse  belongs  to  the  Dakota."  I  did  not  see  anyone. 
After  this  I  went  to. war  and  captured  a  gray  horse.  I  struck  coups,  captured  guns, 
and  achieved  the  other  deeds  of  a  chief,  riding  the  gray  horse.  The  stripe  was  a  sign 
for  striking  coups.  I  named  my  grandson  'Chief-with-the-gray-horse'  {tsicdkaxi- 
watsttsic). 

The  most  interesting  detail  in  the  foregoing  narrative  is  the  mode  of 
self-torture  employed,  which  exactly  parallels  one  reported  for  the 
Hidatsa  at  the  time  of  the  Sun  dance. 


'See  this  volume,  184,  271. 
*A  verv  famous  warrior. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Croir.  337 

Scratches-face,  whose  generic  account  of  visions  has  ah-eady  been 
cited,  recounted  the  following  personal  narrative.  It  was  not  without 
some  difficulty  and  considerably  higher  compensation  than  usual  that 
he  was  prevailed  upon  to  narrate  this  experience. 

I  fasted  because  three  of  my  brothers  (akiipe)  had  been  killed,  one  at  Pine  Ridge, 
one  on  the  other  side  of  the  Bighorn  Mountains,  one  between  Bighorn  and  Pryor. 
When  an  Indian  had  an  akupe,  he  could  take  anything  they  had  and  give  it  away. 
When  all  of  mine  were  killed,  I  was  alone,  had  no  horses  nor  anything  else. 

I  went  on  a  mountain,  chopped  off  a  finger  joint,  and  gave  it  to  Old-Woman's- 
Grandson,  saying: — 

Karicbapitua,  hine        warakuk,  iwice         itsia         wakii. 

Old-Woman's-Grandson,      this  I  give  you,  pay  good  give  me. 

I  cried  out  aloud  a  great  deal.  I  wanted  some  animal  or  something  else  to  help  me. 
Before  chopping  my  finger  off,  I  held  it  toward  the  sky,  praying  and  thus  speaking  to 
Grandson,  "I  do  not  steal  nor  do  any  other  bad  things,  and  you  have  known  me. 
That  is  why  I'm  poor."  When  I  had  said  this,  I  chopped  off  my  finger.  I  cried,  say- 
ing, "I  am  poor,  give  me  a  good  horse.  I  want  to  strike  one  of  the  enemies  and  when  I 
go  on  a  good  road  I  want  to  marry  a  good-natured  woman.  I  want  a  tipi  to  live  in 
that  I  shall  own  myself." 

I  fasted  on  the  mountain  near  where  Joliet  now  is.  I  slept  one  night,  the  next 
day  chopped  off  my  finger,  and  on  the  second  day,  about  this  time  of  day,  I  did  not 
know  anything  then,  the  blood  running  from  my  hand.  Far  in  the  night  I  came  to 
again  and  looked  round;  it  was  night  and  cold.  I  made  a  bed  out  of  sagebrush  and 
grass;  on  it  I  laid  logs.  When  I  fainted,  I  held  my  hand  on  my  breast  on  the  side  I 
had  cut;  half  of  my  body  was  all  covered  with  blood.  When  I  got  up,  I  went  to  my 
bed.  My  arm  ached  and  I  could  not  sleep.  On  the  third  day  I  got  up  and  sat  down. 
I  waG  very  thirsty,  but  thought  I  should  stay  there  till  the  following  night.  On  the 
night  of  the  third  day  I  went  to  bed  and  tried  to  sleep  but  could  not  because  it  was  too 
cold.  Sometimes  I  heard  footsteps  as  if  of  a  person  coming  toward  me,  but  looking 
up  I  saw  no  one.  After  a  while  I  went  to  sleep.  While  asleep  I  heard  a  man  clearing 
his  throat;  also  the  snort  of  a  horse.  I  heard  someone  talking.  "What  are  you  doing? 
You  wanted  him  to  come.  Now  he  has  come."  This  is  what  I  heard.  My  feet  faced 
east  and  my  head  west.  I  heard  someone  ccmirg  toward  me  from  the  west  and  then 
standing  on  my  right  side.  I  saw  men  riding  on  horses,  which  were  prancing  round. 
I  heard  little  bells.  They  got  nearer  to  my  side  and  I  faced  toward  them  and  looked 
at  them.  They  were  not  men  or  horses  but  shadows  of  these.  One  man  was  riding  a 
bobtailed  horse  and  had  painted  his  horse  with  a  lightning  mark  on  all  four  legs.  His 
horse  was  like  fire.  There  were  six  of  them,  the  rest  were  riding  grays  and  blacks. 
The  shadows  were  black.  The  rider  of  the  bobtailed  horse  was  like  fire  too.  His 
r  ar  braid  reached  the  ground,  the  rest  of  his  hair  was  clipped  short.  "I  will  show 
you  what  you  want  to  see.  You  have  been  poor,  so  I'll  give  you  what  you  want." 
The  rider  of  the  bcbtail  .'-aid,  "I  am  going  to  run."  All  the  trees  and  everything 
growing  around  there  then  turned  into  men  and  began  shooting  at  them.  They  just 
kept  on  going  to  the  east  and  I  continued  watching  till  they  were  invisible.  The  dust 
flew  up  to  the  sky.  It  flew  up  again  on  the  east  side  of  the  horizon,  where  the  riders 
had  gone,  and  there  I  heard  a  lot  of  talking.  After  a  while  they  got  out  of  there  and 
came  back.    They  came  and  passed  behind  me.    I  heard  them  yelling  and  whistling. 


338  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

They  came  and  stood  in  front  of  me.  The  rider  of  the  bobtail  said  to  me:  "If  you 
want  to  fight  all  the  people  on  the  earth,  do  as  I  do  and  you  will  be  able  to  fight  for 
three  or  four  days  and  yet  not  be  shot."  All  the  six  horsemen  started  eastward. 
The  rider  of  the  bobtail  held  a  sprar;  it  was  Uke  fire.  They  were  shooting  as  before. 
This  rider  knocked  the  people  down  with  his  spear.  The  dust  fiew  up  to  the  sky. 
Then  followed  a  hailstorm.  The  hailstones  were  as  big  as  my  fist  and  knocked  down 
those  shooting  at  the  horsemen.  I  saw  them  riding  around  in  the  storm.  This  storm 
was  the  Thunder  and  helped  the  six  riders;  it  was  caused  by  a  man  with  wings. 
When  I  went  out  with  the  soldiers  against  an  Indian  tribe  up  north  and  fought  in 
battle,  I  did  just  what  I  had  seen  in  my  dream.  The  fight  started  at  about  8  a.m. 
I  was  not  shot.  They  killed  an  enemy;  I  struck  him  first.  I  fasted  in  the  spring  when 
eighteen  years  old.  Ever  since  then  I  have  owned  good  and  fast  horses;  even  today 
I  have  one.  I  prayed  for  a  good-natured  and  hard-working  woman;  my  present  wife 
to  whom  I  have  been  married  about  thirty  years  is  like  that. 

It  is  not  certain  whether  White-arm's  vision  came  unsought  or  was 
merely  sought  without  tortures.  It  is  interesting  because  it  embodies  the 
reminiscences  of  a  convert  to  Christianity : — 

I  slept  near  Horn's  place.  During  my  sleep  I  saw  a  person  riding  a  brown  horse 
toward  the  top  of  a  mountain  and  singing.  He  came  towards  me.  I  noticed  all  the 
feathers  and  other  ornaments  tied  to  his  horse.  The  isalsise  (species  of  hawk)  was 
painted  on  his  horse's  neck.  I  took  a  wing  of  this  bird  and  used  it  for  my  horse's 
necklace.    This  person  sang  a  song: — 

maraka,    bawardxe    dik'uku.  awe  wa'kuhe   k'ok'.    marakd    diawd,tsisuk. 

My  child,     to  my  song      listen.         The  ground  my  ear         is.  My  child     we  love  you. 

I  joined  the  Church  and  now  the  one  who  gave  me  the  song  is  teasing  me  at  night,  but 
I  won't  listen  to  him.  I  was  under  thirty  years  old  when  I  went  out  for  a  vision  for  the 
first  time.  I  was  one  of  the  poorest  in  the  tribe,  that's  why  I  went.  Some  other 
times  I  went  out,  but  never  had  a  vision.  I  got  the  first  one  without  torture,  while 
I  got  no  vision  out  of  my  later  tortures.  Before  going  for  a  vision  a  man  took  a  bath, 
put  on  good  clothes,  and  abstained  from  sexual  intercourse.  Bull-all-the-time  has  a 
bear  for  his  medicine;  he  is  a  big  shaman. 

Bull-all-the-time  has  already  been  mentioned  for  his  doctoring 
vision.  In  addition  he  had  some  fasting  experiences,  wliich  unfortunately 
were  not  very  fully  described  by  him. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Musselshell  there  is  a  mountain  called  Buffalo-heart 
(bice-rasec).  There  I  slept  and  cut  my  left  forearm.  They  showed  me  that  I  should 
become  a  chief.  In  my  sleep  I  saw  Pryor  Gap  and  beheld  a  person  holding  out  a 
blanket  and  making  a  sign  for  me  to  come  over.  The  Indians  began  to  move,  and  I 
went  to  the  place  where  I  had  been  called  and  fasted  there.  In  my  sleep  I  saw  a 
person  holding  out  a  blanket  and  making  a  sign  for  me  to  come  over.  The  Indians 
began  to  move,  and  I  went  to  the  place  where  I  had  been  called  and  fasted  there. 
In  my  sleep  I  saw  a  person  coming  with  a  war  party's  pipe  and  at  the  end  of  the  stem 
was  tied  human  hair  in  token  of  a  killing.    He  sang : — 

&wk        condak        awiia        aworak. 

Country    (in)  any  as  I  climb    and  come  up. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  339 

At (?)  I  fasted  and  heard  a  snake  rattling  in  the  distance.    It  came  closer. 

It  was  a  rattlesnake  and  threw  something  out  of  its  mouth,- — yellow  paint.  I  made  a 
cloth  representation  of  the  snake,  painted  it  with  yellow  paint  and  stiU  have  it. 

I  told  other  Indians  about  my  visions. 

An  interesting  experience  was  described  by  Hillside:— 

I  was  about  twenty  years  old,  and  among  the  Many  Lodges  band.  Over  at 
White  Mountain  a  big  buffalo  was  killed.  Its  head  was  cut  off  and  its  hide  skinned, 
leaving  the  tail  on.  I  had  myself  cut  in  two  places  on  the  back  and  dragged  the  skull 
outside  the  camp.  The  people  all  saw  me.  My  brother,  the  same  who  had  made  the 
arrow  for  me,  pierced  my  back.*  I  started  early  in  the  moi-ning  and  traveled  all  day 
with  the  skull;  when  the  sun  was  low  I  was  too  weak  to  drag  it  any  longer.  I  went  to 
the  mountain  with  it,  my  brother  cut  it  off,  and  I  slept  on  the  skull  for  a  pillow.  It 
was  raining  hard.  In  my  sleep  I  heard  a  man  say:  "Wait,  poor  fellow,  you  will  eat 
now!"  He  had  the  foot  of  a  buffalo  on  him.  On  the  Pryor  side  I  saw  a  large  crowd 
of  people  with  this  person  in  the  lead.  When  I  was  a.sleep,  a  buffalo  came  up  to  me  and 
licked  me.  His  hair  was  gray;  this  showed  that  I  was  to  live  to  be  an  old  man.  His 
being  leader  showed  that  I  was  to  be  a  leader  of  my  people.  The  buffalo  snorted  while 
licking  me.  Leaders  were  supposed  to  carry  good  luck  for  the  whole  camp.  I  made  a 
buffalo  skin  to  represent  my  dream.  While  dragging  the  skull  I  was  fasting.  The 
buffalo  was  my  real  visitant;  he  had  transformed  himself  into  a  person.  On  another 
occasion  I  dragged  a  skull.  Medicine-crow's  father  told  me  that  he  and  I  were  the 
only  ones  that  had  dragged  a  buffalo  skull  twice. 

Muskrat's  narrative  derives  interest  from  the  fact  that  it  represents 
the  religious  experiences  of  a  woman : — 

I  was  a  young  woman  and  was  pregnant  after  my  husband's  death.  I  was  out 
mourning  the  death  of  my  husband  and  fell  asleep.  In  my  sleep  I  saw  a  person  come 
up  to  me  who  said,  "Take  and  chew  that  weed,  and  you'll  give  birth  without  suffer- 
ing." I  came  back  and  it  happened  as  I  was  told.  The  name  of  the  weed  is  batskklce. 
1  used  the  leaves,  boiled  them,  and  drank  the  infusion.  In  the  same  year  I  went  out 
mourning  for  my  brother  (bakupe).  I  had  no  dream  till  the  fourth  time.  I  had  a 
vision  of  the  bickwarucise  (buffalo-do-not-eat-it)  weed.  I  was  told:  "This  is  better 
and  more  powerful  than  the  other  one."  It  was  for  the  same  purpose,  before  the 
birth  of  the  child.  As  to  the  first  weed,  I  was  told  never  to  pull  out  any  myself,  except 
when  about  to  use  it  for  medicine.  Whenever  anyone  touches  the  buffalo-weed,  I 
get  into  a  trance  (kdxutsek').  The  way  to  get  over  the  trance  is  to  chew  some  of  the 
weed.  No  one  is  supposed  to  touch  my  face  or  any  part  of  my  body  with  it.  I  have  a 
horse  inside  me.  Whenever  the  Bear  Song  dance  is  performed,  I  am  forced  over  to  the 
site.  One  time  I  was  doing  some  beadwork  while  the  Bear  Song  dance  was  going  on  in 
another  part  of  the  camp.  I  sat  down,  paying  no  attention,  but  it  was  just  as  if  some 
power  forced  me  to  go  there.  I  threw  off  my  blanket.  I  heard  voices,  "There's  one 
going  already."  Before  I  arrived,  I  was  out  of  my  senses,  and  the  tail  of  a  horse  came 
out  of  my  mouth.  I  was  married  to  Bad-man's  father  at  this  time.  People  were 
astonished  to  see  this.  They  took  warts  from  a  horse's  leg,  made  incense  therefrom, 
smoked  me  with  it,  and  thus  brought  the  horse  tail  back  into  my  body  again.    Even 


^I  saw  the  scars — R.  H.  L.     For  the  arrow  referred  to  see  p.  391. 


340  Afithropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

when  children  bump  against  me,  this  tail  will  come  out.  So  I  always  keep  some 
horse  wart  about  me.  If  people  with  a  batsirape  do  not  get  proper  incense  in  time,  they 
die. 

I  also  got  weasel  medicine.  My  Weasel  parents  (in  the  Tobacco  society)  gave  me 
a  weasel.  There  was  an  old  man  and  his  wife  known  as  the  Weasels;  very  few  were  in 
their  chapter.  They  took  the  weasel  away  from  me  after  giving  it  to  me.  Then  I 
felt  grirved,  went  out  fasting,  and  had  a  vision  of  a  weasel.  I  went  to  the  mountains  to 
fast,  and  could  not  sleep  all  night.  A  cloud  came  up.  I  went  to  the  rocks  for  shelter 
and  lay  down  to  sleep.  A  weasel  appeared  and  came  on  my  neck,  causing  a  queer 
feeling.  He  went  into  my  stomach.  I  heard  the  weasel  whistling  with  all  his  might. 
I  woke  up  and  looked  round,  but  saw  nothing.  The  weasel  said:  "This  is  what  we 
want  to  give  you."  Then  he  gave  me  a  whistle.  He  sang  a  song.  This  is  the  main 
part  of  the  song: — 

uute  ik'uctsiiruk".  ope  ik'uctsiwa'tsgwik'. 

The  weaselsare  coming  out.    The  Tobacco  I'll  make  come  out. 

Ever  since  I  have  had  control  of  the  Weasel  chapter  and  through  me  it  has  become  so 
renowned.  Once  an  old  man  told  me  to  get  up  and  dance,  and  I  got  up  and  sang  the 
song.  The  weasel  warns  me  against  having  people  strike  my  kidneys,  lest  I  get  into  a 
trance  thereby. 

Both  a  horse  and  a  weasel  are  inside  of  my  body.  Only  lately  I  dreamt  I  owned 
some  weasels  and  soon  after  a  weasel  was  brought  to  me.  People  respect  me  and  take 
care  lest  something  bumps  against  me.  Sometimes  I  dream  of  a  horse  and  afterwards 
come  to  own  it. 

When  I  was  out  fasting,  a  gray  horse  came  up  to  me  and  went  into  my  stomach. 
He  told  me  he  should  enter  me.  After  the  latsir6pe  once  gets  in,  it  does  not  go  out.  I 
doctor  horses  if  they  can't  make  water.  I  chew  something  and  put  it  in  their  mouth. 
Then  they  can  make  water.  I  use  chewing  tobacco.  Tobacco  is  one  of  my  main 
medicines,  I  alwaj's  have  plenty  on  hand  to  doctor  with. 

I  was  fasting  on  a  mountain,  having  heard  that  a  man  had  slept  there.  I  put 
down  new  bedding.  While  I  lay  there,  I  saw  bald-headed  hawks  (?)  but  the  eagle  got 
ahead  of  them,  jumped  towards  me,  and  shook  one  wing  after  the  other,  all  in  order 
to  scare  me.  He  came  up  to  me  and  scared  me.  He  shook  his  wing  and  one  feather 
fell  out.  It  was  the  Tobacco.  I  use  Tobacco  as  one  of  my  main  medicines,  as  a  lini- 
ment; ist  is  also  used  as  a  liniment;  incense  is  made  of  it.  I  also  d  ctor  broken  bones. 
Some  women  chop  off  their  fingers  when  seeking  a  vision;  many  women  did  it.  Twice 
I  got  a  vision  when  staying  out  only  one  day;  the  other  times  I  had  to  fast  for  three 
days. 

The  Sun  is  the  main  thing  I  prayed  to  when  I  went  out;  but  when  I  lay  down  to 
sleep  I  prayed  to  the  ground-cedar  and  the  sagebrush.  The  ground-cedar  is  owned  by 
the  Sun,  I  don't  know  who  owns  the  sagebrush.  I  was  fasting  once  and  the  Sun  told 
me  where  to  go  to  sleep.  I  went  there  and  found  many  medicine-rocks  (bacoritsi'tse). 
Thus  I  got  plenty  of  property.  Red  paint  was  given  to  me  at  the  same  time.  The 
Sun  gave  me  power  to  make  clouds.  When  a  man  leaves  his  wife,  I  can  charm  him 
and  make  him  live  with  her  a  long  time. 

As  is  pointed  out  in  my  paper  on  the  Tobacco  ceremony,  the  bdtsirape 
motive  was  very  prominent  among  the  Crow  Indians,  and  Muskrat's 
account  of  the  weasel  vision  is  one  of  the  clearest  expositions  of  what  the 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  341 

natives  imagine  to  happen  in  such  cases.  Crazy-head,  according  to 
Young-crane,  had  a  frog  for  his  bdtsirape,  and  in  the  winter  it  was  heard 
croaking  in  his  throat.  The  general  conception  of  the  bdtsirape  is  ap- 
parently found  also  among  the  Menomini.^ 

In  studying  the  Tobacco  society  I  obtained  several  descriptions  of 
revelations,  which  I  will  merely  summarize  here  since  they  have  already 
appeared  in  full  form. 

Medicine-crow  prayed  to  the  Sun,  cutting  off  a  finger  joint,  and  was 
visited  by  a  young  man  and  a  young  woman,  who  were  identical  with  the 
Tobacco  plant  and  gave  him  instructions  for  the  foundation  of  the 
Strawberry  chapter.  On  another  occasion  when  mourning  a  comrade 
he  saw  a  crane  and  was  led  to  substitute  a  bird  of  this  species  for  the 
otter  formerly  carried  in  the  Tobacco  planting  procession.  The  crane 
showed  him  a  scalp,  and  he  subsequently  killed  a  Dakota. 

Big-shoulder-blade  had  a  similar  adventure  with  buffalo  transformed 
into  young  men  wearing  buffalo  caps  and  promising  vengeance  for  the 
death  of  his  brother.  In  consequence  he  founded  the  Buffalo  chapter 
and  killed  an  enemy  about  as  old  as  his  brother. 

Sore-tail  was  very  poor  and  went  out  to  fast.  The  Sun  visited  him 
as  he  was  lying  on  his  blanket  and  said,  "I'll  send  you  my  messenger." 
He  sent  the  Eagle,  who  showed  him  a  special  kind  of  lodge  and  taught 
him  a  song.  In  consequence  he  founded  the  Eagle  chapter  and  became 
the  very  richest  of  all  the  Crow.  Anyone  who  wanted  to  go  on  the  war- 
path would  consult  him  and  he  sent  them  out  with  a  blue  feather  on  the 
neck.  He  even  sent  out  a  woman  with  this  medicine  and  she  came  back 
victorious. 

In  1910  Medicine-crow  told  me  of  a  vision,  which  may  be  connected 
in  his  mind  with  the  Tobacco  society  since  a  strawberry  appears,  but  he 
did  not  explicitly  state  that  he  recognized  such  an  association.  His 
account  follows: — 

I  would  pray  during  any  season  of  the  year.  Fasting  makes  men  of  Indians.  At 
this  season  of  the  year  (summer)  I  once  fasted  where  there  were  plenty  of  skulls; 
on  the  other  side  there  was  a  high  place.  I  spent  four  days  and  nights  without  drink- 
ing anything.  On  the  fourth  morning  I  heard  in  the  west  a  shout  and  a  whistling 
sound  resembling  that  made  by  a  railroad  train.  I  heard  it  four  times,  then  I  heard  a 
voice  say,  "There  is  something  coming  to  meet  you  from  over  there."  I  looked  in 
that  direction  and  saw  something  coming.  It  approached  and  I  beheld  a  white  man, 
a  young  man  with  the  handsomest  face,  standing  before  me.  Had  he  spoken  to  me  in 
English,  I  might  be  able  to  speak  English,  but  he  addressed  me  in  Crow.  Had  I 
been  a  white  man  and  seen  the  vision,  I  think  I  should  be  wealthy  today.    The  young 

'Skinner,  vol.  XIII,  this  series,  pp.  42,  45. 


342         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum,  of  Xatural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

man  said,  "You  are  poor  and  I  have  known  this  for  a  long  time.  All  the  people 
around  here  will  always  know  about  you  and  hear  about  you;  you  will  be  a  chief." 
Having  said  this,  he  yawned  as  though  from  sleepiness,  and  I  saw  that  his  teeth  were 
all  gold.  He  had  something  pinned  on  in  front  which  smelled  sweetly  and  turned  out 
to  be  a  strawberry.  He  said,  pointing  east,  "A  great  many  whites  are  in  that  direction; 
you  will  be  taken  there  four  times.  The  last  time  you  will  be  an  old  man."  Since 
then  I  have  been  taken  East  once  and  still  expect  to  be  taken  three  times. 

The  foregoing  data  will  suffice  to  bring  out  the  main  characteristics 
of  Crow  visions.  Since  the  vision  concept  enters  into  every  aspect  of 
Crow  life,  additional  illustrations  will  be  found  in  other  parts  of  this 
paper  and  in  publications  on  the  whole  devoted  to  other  phases  of  culture. 

Though  I  repeatedl}^  attempted  to  get  descriptions  of  ordinary 
dreams,  I  never  succeeded  in  securing  a  detailed  narrative.  Most  com- 
monly my  informants  spoke  of  seeing  ripe  berries  and  themselves  eating 
them;  or  the  whole  country  covered  with  snow;  or  the  ice  floating  down 
the  river.  These  are  quite  conventional  ways  of  designating  the  seasons 
of  the  year  and  the  assumption  always  is  that  if  a  person  has  dreamt  of  a 
particular  season  he  will  live  until  the  next  summer  or  whatever  portion 
of  the  year  was  suggested.  It  is  dreams  of  this  sort  that  are  announced 
in  the  sudatory.  For  example,  a  man  will  then  say,  "I  saw  the  hay  crop 
being  cut,  may  we  all  do  the  same." 

Even  in  the  last  years  of  his  life  Gray-bull  would  dream  of  martial 
experiences  by  night  and  by  day.  He  would  see  a  big  battle  and  himself 
capturing  a  white  horse.  Once  he  dreamt  the  enemy  were  leaving  a  girl 
behind  and  on  coming  up  to  her  the  Crow  braves  found  that  she  was  a 
woman  now  living  in  Lodge  Grass.  On  the  day  Gray-bull  told  me  about 
his  dreams  he  had  taken  a  sweatbath  and  had  said  there,  "Raise  the  door, 
I  have  seen  horses,  may  we  all  have  them." 

A  Crow  girl  once  dreamt  that  she  was  riding  a  mouse  loaded  with 
lodge  poles.    Dreams  of  flying  and  of  falhng  from  a  height  occur. 

If  a  person  dreamt  that  some  close  relative  of  his  had  fallen  ill,  he 
would  cut  off  a  lock  of  his  hair  on  the  following  morning,  take  some 
tobacco  and  meat,  and  cast  all  three  into  the  water.  If  the  relative 
dreamt  about  is  far  away,  the  dreamer  will  build  a  sweatlodge  and  voice 
wishes  on  behalf  of  the  kinsman  at  each  opening  of  the  sudatory. 

It  is  beUeved  that  a  bug  on  the  head  makes  people  dream. 

Bear-gets-up  told  me  that  in  the  spring  of  1911  he  had  frequently 
dreamt  of  deceased  friends.  At  first  he  had  not  dreamt  about  getting 
anything  to  eat,  but  .later  he  dreamt  of  himself  being  feasted  by  an  old 
woman  of  his  own  clan.     One  day  when  I  arrived  at  this  informant's 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  '  343 

lodge,  he  greeted  me  with  the  remark  that  he  had  dreamt  last  night  of 
himself  engaged  in  conversation  with  me,  hence  I  had  to  come: — 
o^tsiac       bawacf^rak    hine    batcirirak    bats-awdxpak  bari-waka+uk. 

Last  night    I  dreamt  this        white  man      mutually  I  with  him      we  talked  we  continued. 

hec      hoi-matsik',       ik"6t"k'. 

Now      he  had  to  come,      that  is  why. 

Young-crane  said  she  sometimes  dreamt  of  the  next  winter,  seeing 
ice  and  snow.  After  her  husband  had  been  killed,  she  dreamt  of  him 
lying  down  with  her.    This  frightened  her. 

Dreams  which  definitely  partake  of  the  nature  of  visions  have  been 
dealt  with  as  such. 


SHAMANS. 
With  reference  to  shamans  Professor  Kroeber's  admirable  formula- 
tion of  Arapaho  conditions^  appUes  in  like  measure  to  the  Crow.  There 
were  indeed  men  who  had  received  revelations  of  so  important  a  char- 
acter and  had  shown  their  powers  in  so  convincing  a  fashion  that  they 
were  designated  as  batsk  maxpe.  But  they  differed  merely  in  degree, 
not  in  kind,  from  others  who  had  successfully  sought  visions,  and  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  segregate  them  as  a  definite  group  from  the  rest  of  the 
community.  As  Professor  Kroeber  fehcitously  puts  it,  to  do  so  would  be 
as  artificial  as  to  recognize  a  distinct  caste  of  warriors  in  a  tribe  where 
every  one  strove  to  achieve  martial  fame.  Shamanism  in  principle  has 
thus  been  sufficiently  expounded  in  the  section  on  Visions.  It  remains  to 
discuss  certain  characteristic  manifestations  of  shamanistic  competence 
at  its  high- water  mark. 

Contests. 

The  most  dramatic  exhibition  of  supernatural  powers  naturally  took 
the  form  of  a  contest  between  rival  shamans.  This  might  be  waged  in  a 
fairly  amicable  spirit,  but  was  also  carried  on  in  grim  earnest.  Such  con- 
flicts are  described  by  the  term  hats-nn-dutud,  seizing  one  another's 
arms;2  it  represents  an  opponent  seizing  the  other's  arms  and  rendering 
him  helpless. 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  shamanistic  feud  of  the  last  half  century 
was  that  between  Big-ox  and  White-thigh.  It  was  repeatedly  referred  to 
by  various  informants.  Big-ox  had  had  a  revelation  from  the  Thunder 
and  was  greatly  feared  as  a  sorcerer.  White-thigh  was  also  a  great 
shaman,  his  principal  charm  being  a  medicine  rock  (bacoritsi'tse) .  Big- 
ox  lay  with  the  wife  of  Shows-wings,  who  had  got  his  captain's  medicine 
from  White-thigh  and  accordingly  complained  to  his  patron,  asking  that 
he  should  do  something  against  Big-ox.  When  Big-ox  went  on  the  war- 
path, White-thigh  caused  him  to  meet  a  large  hostile  force,  so  that  his 
party  was  obhged  to  flee,  losing  many  horses.  Then  Big-ox  waited  for  his 
rival  to  go  out  against  the  enemy,  for  both  of  them  had  the  pipe  (i.e., 
were  captains).  They  were  out  several  nights.  Big-ox  prayed  to  the 
Thunder,  asking  that  only  the  captain  should  meet  with  some  disaster. 
It  rained  continually  and  White-thigh's  horse  was  struck  by  hghtning, 
so  they  had  to  turn  back.    Each' worked  against  the  other  four  times  in 


'A.  L.  Kroeber,    "The  Arapaho"   {Bulletin,  American  Museum,  oj  Natural  History,  vol.  18,  pt.  4, 
1907),  419. 

^bats,  reciprocal  prefix;    Are,  arm,  dutiia,  seizing. 

344 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  345 

this  fashion  until  neither  ventured  to  go  on  the  warpath.  At  last  Big-ox 
got  angry.  He  drew  a  human  image  on  the  ground,  made  a  hole  in  the 
heart,  blew  smoke  on  it,  and  effaced  the  picture  after  saying,  "You 
shall  be  the  poorest  creature  on  earth;  finally  you  shall  be  bUnd  and  have 
to  crawl  on  your  hands  and  feet.''^  This  came  true  and  White-thigh 
became  so  poor  that  he  had  no  belt  and  had  to  use  a  rope  in  its  place. 
The  bhnded  man  smoked  against  Big-ox  and  said,  "He  shall  be  very 
poor,  roam  from  camp  to  camp,  and  end  in  feeble-mindedness."  This 
also  came  true.  Big-ox  lost  all  his  family,  and  in  his  old  age,  when  I  knew 
him,  he  had  to  wander  from  one  stranger's  camp  to  another  and  on 
account  of  his  dotage  had  lost  all  his  former  prestige.  Although  both 
predictions  were  verified,  Big-ox  is  generally  regarded  as  the  victor,  for 
the  other  man  died,  while  Big-ox  in  spite  of  his  sufferings  never  had  to  go 
hungry. 

Big-ox's  practices  were  evidently  a  compound  of  magic  and  animism- 
On  the  one  hand,  he  relied  on  the  protection  of  Thunder,  on  the  other  he 
resorted  to  what  savors  of  pure  imitative  magic.  It  is  said  that  he  in- 
dulged in  sorcery  a  number  of  times,  but  suffered  himself  each  time  since 
members  of  his  family  would  die.  Once  he  was  found  trying  to  smite  a 
woman  with  blindness,  but  was  caught  in  the  act  and  made  to  desist. 
According  to  one  statement,  such  practices  were  indulged  in  clandestinely 
for  fear  of  the  victim's  family.  However,  I  have  satisfied  myself  that  the 
notion  of  kiUing  an  evil  shaman  after  the  manner  of  some  Shoshonean 
tribes  is  quite  foreign  to  the  Crow.  They  would  either  try  to  pacify 
their  powerful  enemy  or  have  him  combated  by  another  medicineman. 

Evil  magic  is  called  duck'uo  (also  applied  to  charming  a  person  of 
the  opposite  sex),  and  the  act  of  smoking  against  some  one  is  literally 
defined  by  the  term  kus-6piu.  The  methods  pursued  are  suggested  above, 
but  accounts  vary  as  to  details.  One  Crow  says  that  the  picture  of  the 
enemy  is  sometimes  drawn  near  a  river  bank,  with  the  head  nearest  the 
water,  whereupon  the  sorcerer  smokes  towards  it  and  burns  incense. 
The  water  comes  to  wash  the  image  away,  and  the  sooner  it  does  so,  the 
sooner  the  victim  will  die.  Another  informant  says  that  a  rock  or  baxe 
weed  was  placed  on  the  picture  and  in  order  to  bUnd  his  enemy  the 
shaman  would  put  ashes  or  charcoal  on  the  eye  of  his  image.  The  injury 
planned  would,  of  course,  vary :  the  shaman  would  paralyze  his  victim, 
strike  hun  with  dumbness;  deform  him,  have  him  killed  on  a  warparty, 


^Another  informant  states  that  he  saw  Big-ox  dig  a  little  hole  in  the  ground,  put  in  charcoal  and 
ground-moss  (awdkotsirilhe) ,  smoke  and  blow  the  smoke  into  the  hole,  whereupon  he  covered  up  the  pit 
after  saying  that  he  was  going  to  make  his  enemy  poor. 


346         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

or  cause  him  to  lose  his  property.  A  common  motive  for  the  use  of  evil 
magic  seems  to  have  been  jealousy  on  account  of  a  love  affair  with  one's 
wife. 

I  learned  of  one  other  shamanistic  contest  comparable  to  that  of 
White-thigh  and  Big-ox.  The  participants  were  Gros  Ventre-horse  and 
Dung- face  (ise-perec).  Dung-face  told  his  rival  he  would  send  him  off 
to  another  place;  Gros  Ventre-horse  said  he  could  not  do  it :  "I  am  not  a 
child  and  will  not  depart."  "You  will  not  know  whether  you  don't 
go  away,"  said  Dung-face.  Gros  Ventre-horse  answered,  ''You  shall  be 
poor  and  shall  have  no  horses  or  tipis."  Dung-face  said,  "You  will  go 
off  and  stay  in  another  place,  it  will  come  true."  Both  had  their  wishes 
fulfilled.  Gros  Ventre-horse  went  to  the  Gros  Ventre  (Hidatsa?)  and 
died  there,  Dung-face  came  to  have  no  horses  at  all.  This  was  an  instance 
of  batsdndutud. 

Dung-face  had  another  encounter  with  Jackrabbit  which  was  not 
quite  so  serious.  Jackrabbit  had  gone  out  to  the  enemy  and  brought 
plenty  of  horses.  He  made  a  song  in  derision  of  Dung-face,  who  went 
into  his  tent  and  bade  his  brother  bring  an  old  Ijuffalo  skull.  On  the 
forehead  he  drew  horsetracks  and  announced  that  these  were  the  tracks 
of  the  horses  stolen  by  Jackrabbit,  as  well  as  those  formerly  owned  by 
him.  He  told  his  brother  to  take  the  head  and  throw  it  into  the  water, 
saying,  "These  are  Jackrabbit's  horses."  Dung-face  said,  "Then  Jack- 
rabbit will  not  have  any  horses."  The  Crow  broke  camp  and  ascended 
the  Little  Horn.  The  enemy  came  and  stole  all  of  Jackrabbit's  horses. 
Dung-face  followed  their  tracks,  caught  the  enemy,  killed  two  of  them, 
and  recovered  all  the  horses.  Now  he  owned  Jackrabbit's  horses. 
Jackrabbit  paid  him  for  four  of  them,  l)ut  Dung-face  kept  the  rest. 

More  commonly  the  rivalry  of  shamans  assmned  milder  forms. 
Three-wolves  told  of  a  case  which  was  also  mentioned  by  others.  There 
was  one  medicineman  who  would  not  permit  any  visitors  to  touch  the 
fire  in  the  center  of  his  lodge.  Another  shaman  heard  of  this  and  paid  his 
rival  a  visit.  He  found  two  or  three  men  there,  who  w^ere  afraid  to  touch 
the  fire.  He  said  to  his  host,  "I  too  am  a  medicineman,  but  I  don't 
forbid  my  guests  to  touch  the  fire.  Why  do  you?''  The  other  replied, 
"I  fear  they  would  get  hurt."  Thereupon  the  visitor  seized  the  fire- 
sticks  and  pulled  them  about,  saying,  "I'll  see  what  will  happen;  give 
me  your  pipe  and  I'll  smoke."  The  other  shaman  Ijegan  to  cough  and 
spat  out  worms  rapidly  increasing  in  number  and  moving  towards  his 
rival.  The  latter  stmck  his  sides  with  some  mud,  whereupon  a  little 
bird  came  out  and  picked  up  the  worms  one  after  another.    The  host 


1922.]  Lome,  Religion  of  the  Crou\  347 

cried,  "Don't  let  it  eat  up  all  my  medicine;  take  yom-  bird  out  and  go 
away."  "I  don't  like  3'our  medicine."  At  last  the  visitor  covered  his 
head  with  his  robe  and  put  the  bird  back  into  his  stomach.  Then  he  said, 
"Let  us  have  some  more  fun,  get  out  some  more  of  your  worms."  The 
defeated  shaman  said,  "No,  you  are  no  good.  Go  away  with  your  bird,  I 
don't  want  my  medicine  to  be  eaten  up."  One-horn  added  that  the  host, 
before  acknowledging  his  defeat,  spat  out  a  big  toad,  but  his  rival  again 
made  the  bird  appear,  which  killed  the  toad  and  then  reentered  the 
shaman's  mouth. 

This  episode  was  also  briefly  described  by  Little-rump,  who  says  it 
took  place  when  he  was  young.  The  owner  of  the  lodge,  according  to 
him,  was  named  Cherry-necklace,  ot  the  xuxkaraxtse  clan;  he  had  mar- 
ried an  Hidatsa  woman  and  had  Uved  among  her  people.  His  neck  was 
tattooed  all  over.  The  other  shaman  was  named  Red-owl  and  belonged 
to  the  usawatsid  clan.  Cherry-necklace  would  not  permit  anyone  to 
expectorate  in  his  lodge  because  if  they  did  they  would  feel  a  worm  in 
their  neck.  Once  a  man  who  had  expectorated  had  a  worm  sucked  out 
of  his  neck.  The  other  taboo  established  by  Cherry-necklace  was  the 
one  described  above.  Red-owl's  bird  was  a  woodpecker.  Both  the  wood- 
pecker and  the  worms  reentered  their  respective  owners'  bodies. 

Sometimes  a  number  of  shamans  would  decide  to  have  a  contest  and 
assembled  in  a  lodge  where  they  ranged  themselves  on  opposite  sides,- 
while  young  men  came  in  to  sing.  Then,  Strikes-three-men  says,  one 
might  begin  the  performance  by  taking  a  blue  bead  and  rubbing  it,  thus 
transforming  it  into  a  bluebird's  egg.  Another  would  rub  some  buffalo 
chips  and  produce  chokecherry  pemmican.  A  third  would  twist  his 
blanket,  thereby  causing  the  man  opposite  him  to  drop  in  a  faint;  then 
by  untwisting  the  robe  he  would  restore  his  opponent.  These  performers 
were  known  as  ak-bahimhire,  which  my  first  interpreter  rendered,  'the 
twisters,'  but  the  more  common  meaning  seems  to  be  'the  transformers,' 
'the  jugglers.'  The  word  without  the  prefix  denoting  the  actor  is  applied 
to  a  white  man's  circus  performance.  One  shaman  said  to  his  adversary, 
"I'll  put  a  hncitse  (flat  rock  used  in  pounding  cherries)  into  your 
stomach."  His  opponent  arose  screaming  and  his  abdomen  was  seen  to 
protrude  painfully.  The  other  shaman  smoked  some  medicine  for  in- 
cense and  made  the  abdomen  shrink  to  its  normal  dimensions.  One 
.  shaman  said  to  his  opponent,  "Swallow  this  knife."  When  the  man  had 
swallowed  it,  the  shaman  extracted  it  from  his  anus.  Such  shamans  were 
greatly  feared  by  other  people  since  they  could  cripple  their  enemies 
through  their  power,  'seizing  their  victims'  arms'  {nndutud,  see  above). 


348         Anthropological  Papas  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

At  such  contests  there  are  sometimes  two  or  thi-ee,  very  rarely  as  many 
as  four,  shamans  on  each  side.  Sometimes  a  shaman  is  powerful  enough 
to  withstand  his  opponent's  attack. 

Tlu-ee-wolves  recounted  a  shamanistic  contest  attended  by  hmi  in 
which  four  men  took  part.  One  side  would  say,  "Try  to  prevent  us 
from  doing  sometliing  to  you."  They  sent  a  burr  against  one  of  their 
opponents,  and  he  fainted.  The  singers  continued  singing,  and  the  suc- 
cessful shamans  asked  for  tobacco  and  smoked.  The  man  who  had  cast 
the  burr  jumped  over  the  'dead'  man  and  with  his  hand  extracted  the 
burr  from  Ms  body;  other  shamans  use  suction.  An  otterskin  was  tied 
to  a  peg  in  front  of  a  performer,  who  twisted  it,  thereby  choking  his 
opponent  and  making  him  fall  down.  The  first  shaman  leapt  over  him 
and  after  smoking  restored  hun  to  consciousness.  '  'Now  we'll  go  against 
one  of  your  men,  try  to  help  him."  They  sent  a  red-stone  pipe-stopper 
(?)  against  him.  Some  men  cannot  be  choked  this  way.  The  injured 
man's  comrades  fanned  him  with  a  blanket  or  jumped  about.  Another 
shaman  rolled  up  wolf  hair  into  a  ball  and  sent  it  into  his  adversary. 
One  man  jumped  into  the  fire,  stamped  on  it,  then  climbed  a  tipi  pole 
and  on  getting  down  challenged  them,  saying  "Now  shoot  at  me." 
His  opponents  tried  every  device,  but  he  always  caught  their  medicine 
and  flung  it  back  at  them.  These  performances  take  place  in  the  evening. 
Only  those  who  have  dreamt  of  this  particular  power  are  active  partici- 
pants. They  are  usually,  but  not  always,  old  men.  Once  a  young  man 
dreamt  of  a  bird  fl3dng  round  in  one  direction  and  killing  people  thereby, 
while  when  it  flew  the  opposite  way  thej^  all  revived. 

Little-rump  mentioned  tricks  performed  on  two  distinct  occasions. 
Once  several  old  Indians  had  assembled  in  a  lodge  and  divided  into  sides, 
each  striving  to  outdo  the  other.  My  informant  saw  one  man  put  a  leaf 
into  the  palm  of  his  hand,  deposit  some  ashes  on  it,  blow  and  rub;  then 
he  showed  a  shell.  Another  time  Little-rump  and  his  comrade  were 
with  some  Indians,  and  there  was  mutual  twitting  about  each  party's 
having  no  medicine.  The  others  challenged  Little-rump  and  his  com- 
panion to  do  something.  His  friend  took  a  bunch  of  buffalo  hair  and 
some  dirt,  began  to  rub  them  under  his  blanket,  and  threw  the  product 
in  front  of  the  challengers,  and  it  was  a  mole.  Then  he  took  buffalo 
hair,  ashes,  and  dirt,  rubbed  them  between  his  palms,  and  in  a  little  while 
the  onlookers  saw  that  he  had  something  big  in  his  hand.  When  he 
threw  it  down,  it  was  a  live  rat. 

Arm-round-the-neck  witnessed  a  combat  between  two  shamans, 
one  seated  on  each  side  of  the  lodge,  where  a  big  fire  had  been  kindled. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Croiv.  349 

Both  had  painted  themselves  and  used  all  their  medicine.  One  of  them 
said  he  was  going  to  bhnd  his  opponent.  He  was  naked.  While  singing 
his  song,  he  jmiiped  into  the  fire  and  got  out  again.  "We  chd  not  know 
what  he  did,  but  the  other  man  became  bhnd.  The  blinded  one  whistled, 
sang  his  song  and  did  what  he  could  but  failed  to  regain  his  sight." 
Then  the  shaman  who  had  blinded  him  made  him  see  again.  The  second 
man  in  turn  said  he  was  going  to  try  his  medicine  on  the  first  and  would 
make  him  die.  His  medicine  was  a  ghost;  his  body  was  painted  white 
and  he  had  black  paint  round  his  eyes.  He  sang  his  song,  went  outside, 
ran  up  the  cover  of  the  tipi  and  down  again.  His  opponent  went  back- 
wards and  lay  down  stiff.  When  the  man  who  had  killed  him  saw  that 
he  could  not  rise,  he  did  not  touch  him,  but  made  the  motion  of  taking 
something  from  his  victim.  He  had  a  burr  in  his  hand.  The  dead  man 
then  got  up.  These  medicinemen  were  named  He-seeks  (batsire)  and 
Enters-a-red-feather  (ba+6c-birere).  He-seeks  jmnped  into  the  fire 
without  getting  hurt  and  Arm-round-the-neck  thinks  he  had  the  stronger 
medicine.  One  of  the  two  shamans  went  up  the  inside  of  the  lodge, 
taking  hold  of  the  poles,  went  out  of  the  smoke  hole,  and  came  down 
again  by  the  smoke  hole;  he  made  a  noise  like  an  owl.^ 

The  foregoing  was  the  only  real  hakiimhirio  witnessed  by  Arm-round- 
the-neck.  He  was  present  on  another  occasion  when  four  shamans  tried 
to  do  something  of  the  same  sort,  but  without  success.  One  of  them 
claimed  having  crow  medicine  and  said  he  could  take  out  people's  eyes; 
another  tried  to  do  something  to  my  informant,  but  failed. 

Another  informant  furnished  the  following  account : — 

It  was  getting  dark  when  I  heard  a  herald  cry,  "All  who  can  make  medicine  shall 
come  together!  Paint  yourselves  according  to  your  visions  and  come  to  where  I 
am!"  They  were  going  to  test  one  another's  powers.  They  said,  "We  will  test  one 
another  and  see  who  will  leave."  Those  men  who  had  visions  of  ground-squirrels  and 
ghosts  always  painted  white.  The  door  was  opened  and  we  all  watched  them.  One 
fellow  who  was  painted  white  jumped  into  the  middle  of  the  lodge.  "I'll  kill  one  of 
you,"  he  said,  and  called  one  of  the  others,  who  immediately  took  his  pipe  to  defend 
himself.  They  danced.  The  ghost-visionary  took  a  rope,  while  the  other  held  his 
pipe  vertically,  touching  his  neck.  The  performer  tied  a  knot  in  his  rope  and  his 
opponent  began  to  choke.  Another  man  jumped  into  the  middle  and  asked  the  per- 
former to  try  his  power  on  him.  He  protected  himself  by  crossing  and  convulsively 
twitching  his  arms,  and  the  rope  did  not  affect  him  at  all. 

All  the  medicinemen  were  singing  separately.  One  shaman  .said,  "You  are  all 
medicinemen ;  I'll  knock  you  all  down  by  my  power. "  He  hopped  round  with  peculiar 
movements  of  his  left  hand  and  all  fell  over  towards  the  right  side.      Then  he  made 

'This  is  doubtless  the  one  with  the  ghost-medicine.    See  p.  381 . 


350         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

movements  with  his  right  hand,  and  they  all  fell  over  to  the  other  side.  Another  man 
took  some  bark,  stuck  it  into  the  fire  and  blew  smoke  on  his  hands,  making  the  sound 
of  a  ground-squirrel.  When  he  was  ready,  he  said,  "Look  what  I  have  done."  He  had 
made  a  big  plug  of  trade  tobacco  and  gave  it  to  them  to  smoke.  Another  shaman  took 
ashes,  burned  incense,  and  blew  on  the  ashes,  transforming  them  into  beads.  Still 
another  medicineman  got  up  and  said,  "I'll  make  a  handkerchief."  He  rolled  a  piece 
of  mud  into  a  ball,  while  a  drum  was  being  beaten,  rolled  the  ball,  and  stuck  it  into  the 
fire.  When  he  opened  his  hands,  a  handkerchief  was  seen  in  them.  He  re-trans- 
formed it  into  mud,  and  threw  it  away.    I  saw  this  myself. 

At  this  point  all  the  horses  ran  off  and  all  the  onlookers,  including  myself,  ran 
after  them.  After  this^  one  shaman  took  a  stone  maul,  lifted  it  and  swallowed  it.  His 
stomach  was  inflated.  He  moved  off  and  the  stone  dropped  to  the  ground.  Another 
man  stuck  the  limb  of  a  chokecherry  into  the  ground.  This  was  in  the  winter  time. 
He  sang,  scratched  the  ground,  and  pulled  out  Indian  turnips,  which  he  gave  to  the 
people  to  eat.  He  told  them  to  sing  again,  took  the  chokecherry  limb,  shook  it  over 
his  head  and  looked  at  it  three  times.  Nothing  happened;  but  the  fourth  time  he 
looked  and  though  it  was  in  the  dead  of  winter  there  were  ripe  berries  on  it,  which  all 
of  them  ate.  The  same  thing  was  done  with  june-berries.  This  magic  power  is 
derived  from  animals  appearing  in  visions. 

Gray-bull  described  the  following  occurrences: — 

We  were  camping  on  the  Plum  River.  I  heard  a  crier  in  camp  calling  some  men 
into  his  tipi  so  they  might  fix  themselves  up.  I  asked  my  mother  what  was  the  matter 
and  she  told  me  it  was  a  bdhumbtrio  I  heard  drums  beating.  I  went  to  the  big  tipi, 
stood  at  the  door,  and  looked  in.  The  one  closest  to  the  door  had  all  his  body  daubed 
with  white  clay.  He  sang  for  a  while,  then  jumped  into  the  fire.  The  singers  were  in 
the  rear  of  the  tent,  singing  special  songs  for  the  occasion.  When  the  shaman  got  out 
of  the  fire,  he  said,  "Make  tobacco  for  me."  Then  someone  on  the  inside  said,  "Give 
it  here."  He  held  his  hand  over  the  fire  for  a  while,  stretched  out  his  arms,  and  when 
he  brought  it  back  he  had  some  tobacco  and  kinnikinnick  in  his  hand.  He  acted  as  if 
he  were  going  to  take  something,  then  gave  tobacco  to  those  seated  by  him,  who  filled 
their  pipes,  whereupon  both  they  and  he  himself  smoked.  The  shamans  were  ranged 
on  two  sides,  each  group  betting  against  the  other.  After  the  tobacco  had  been  con- 
sumed, one  shaman  told  his  opponents  he  would  knock  them  all  over  on  one  side  with 
his  hand.  They  began  to  sing  and  make  medicines,  telling  him  he  could  not  do  it  and 
betting  against  him.  He  began  to  dance  by  the  door  and  the  fire,  clad  only  in  his 
breechclout  and  with  his  body  painted  white.  He  motioned  with  one  arm  as  if  to 
push  them  to  one  side,  and  all  of  them  fell  toward  one  side.  The  spectators  cheered 
the  shaman.  After  he  had  done  this,  he  sat  down.  A  man  got  up  from  the  other  side; 
his  body  was  red.  He  ran  round  the  fire  four  times,  then  hooted  like  an  owl,  jumped 
up,  and  disappeared.  We  did  not  know  how  he  went  up  but  heard  him  hooting  owl- 
fashion  from  the  top  of  the  lodge.  He  was  going  to  bring  either  a  fish  or  a  frog,  but 
at  this  point  all  the  horses  in  camp  ran  away  and  all  the  people  went  after  them,  so  the 
performance  broke  up.  Somehow  the  shaman  also  returned  and  looked  for  the  horses. 
Those  who  performed  these  tricks  usually  had  a  crow,  rat,  or  ghost  for  their  medicine. 

Gray-bull  knew  of  no  shaman  of  this  type  who  gave  away  his 
medicine. 

'It  is  not  clear  whether  the  narrator  means  that  what  follows  happened  on  another  occasion  or  that 
it  merely  happened  after  his  departure  and  is  told  on  the  basis  of  hearsay. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  (he  Croic.  351 

Legerdemain. 

Sleight-of-hand  performances  of  this  type  were  bj'  no  means  con- 
fined to  the  time  of  formal  contests  between  medicinemen.  One  of  the 
most  famous  of  shamans  was  Plenty-fingers,  who  is  said  to  have  been 
contemporary  with  Medicine-crow's  father;  One-star's  wife  is  one  of  his 
granddaughters.  He  derived  his  power  from  a  bear;  at  one  time  he  was 
very  poor,  but  when  a  bear  was  killed  in  camp  he  had  his  back  punctured 
and  dragged  the  skin  about  camp.  He  named  all  his  seven  children  after 
the  bear, —  Bear-stays-in-the-wood  {naxyitsk-war'tre-na'kud) )  Bear- 
holds-up-his-arms  (naxpitse-iccire-wisdc);  Bear-small- waist  (naxpitsk- 
tsikipic);  Bears-seek-food  {naxpitsk-maruc  tslru);  Bear-seeks-cherries 
{naxpitse-ivntsuts-lric);  Bear-ears  {naxpitsk-a'pdc);  ^Tiere-bear-stays-it- 
is-good  {naxpitse-anna'ko  =itsic) . 

One  winter  one  of  these  children  wanted  some  berries.  Plenty- 
fingers  told  them  to  get  him  the  lijnb  of  a  cherry  tree.  When  they  had 
brought  it,  he  stuck  it  into  the  ground  in  front  of  himseK,  covered  him- 
self up  and  made  medicine.  When  he  had  removed  the  blanket,  the  tree 
was  full  of  cherries,  which  the  children  ate.  One  of  the  boys  wanted 
plums  and  in  similar  fashion  he  produced  plmns.  Some  of  the  girls  would 
long  for  wild  turnips  in  the  winter  time.  He  would  dig  in  the  ground  with 
his  fingers,  take  some  out,  and  give  them  to  his  children.  He  could  also 
produce  sarvis-berries  and  other  berries  in  the  mnter.  When  people  had 
no  meat,  they  would  go  to  Plentj'-fingers  and  ask  him  for  some.  He 
would  order  them  to  get  the  bark  of  a  tree,  cover  himself  and  the  bark 
with  a  blanket,  and  when  he  was  done  the  bark  had  turned  into  dry  meat, 
which  was  given  to  everyone  to  satisfy  their  hunger.  He  could  similarly 
transform  driftwood  into  animal  intestines. 

Plentj'-fingers  was  also  able  to  treat  illness.  Once  a  man  was  on  the 
point  of  death,  being  just  able  to  breathe.  They  said,  "Call  Plenty- 
fingers."  When  he  came,  he  bade  the  other  people  go  outside.  Then  he 
was  heard  singing  a  bear  song.  He  sucked  something  out  of  the  patient's 
skull  and  something  out  of  his  neck  and  chest.  Wliile  before  the  man  had 
merely  been  able  to  breathe,  he  now  began  to  talk  and  look  about  and 
was  well.  Then  Plenty-fingers  stuck  one  finger  into  the  ground, 
sang  a  song  and  pulled  out  a  wild  turnip,  which  he  gave  the  man  to  eat. 
He  told  the  people  to  bring  him  a  plum  branch,  planted  it  in  front  of  liim, 
covered  himself  and  the  branch  with  a  blanket,  and  began  to  growl  Hke  a 
bear.  When  the  blanket  was  removed,  there  were  plmns  on  the  limb, 
and  he  fed  them  to  the  sick  man.  Similarly  he  produced  cherries  and 
plums  for  him.  He  also  stuck  his  fingers  into  the  ground  and  pulled  out 
wild  carrots  (bik- dsa'te)  for  the  people  he  doctored. 


352         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Plenty-fingers  foretold  what  was  going  to  happen.  He  said,  "There 
is  a  place  where  j^ou  are  always  going  to  run  round  in  a  circle."  By  this 
he  meant  to  prophesy  that  they  were  going  to  have  fair-grounds.  He 
also  predicted  the  kind  of  guns  they  were  going  to  have,  saying,  "I  have 
a  gun  into  which  I  always  put  six  shells ;  I  have  a  gun  that  shoots  far 
away." 

For  a  long  time  he  was  considered  invulnerable.  He  felt  safe  and 
accordingly  acted  as  recklessly  as  a  Crazy  Dog.  Once  there  was  a  big 
fight  on  the  Bighorn  and  one  of  the  enemies  had  a  gun  and  plenty  of 
arrows.  The  other  Crow  were  afraid  of  him.  Plenty-fingers  asked 
whether  any  of  them  had  struck  him*.  When  they  answered  negatively, 
he  went  straight  toward  him  and  was  shot  above  the  abdomen,  but 
growled  Hke  a  bear  and  rubbed  leaves  over  his  abdomen  with  his  hand 
and  got  well  again.  Then  he  captured  the  enemy's  gun.  Four  times  he 
was  badly  wounded,  but  merely  spat  on  his  hands  and  cured  himself 
forthwith.  Once  the  enemy  were  entrenched  and  Plenty-fingers  walked 
toward  the  trench  clad  in  his  bear  blanket.  They  shot  at  him  four  times. 
Each  time  he  fell  down,  but  when  he  got  back  there  was  no  hole  in  his 
blanket.  Once,  however,  there  were  six  Shoshoni  in  a  trench  and  when 
Plenty-fingers  started  against  them  they  shot  at  him  and  he  fell  down. 
People  said,  ''Though  he  falls,  he  gets  up  again."  But  he  did  not  get 
up;  he  had  been  shot  square  in  the  forehead.  Little-rump  was  a  big  boy 
when  this  took  place. 

To  return  to  tricks  of  legerdemain.  Little-rump  tells  of  one  occa- 
sion when  he  saw  Hunts-the-enemy  give  a  performance  at  the  request 
of  those  present.  Taking  a  buffalo  chip,  he  flattened  and  rounded  it 
between  his  pahns,  then  rolled  it.  When  it  first  left  his  hand  it  was  a 
round  chip,  but  as  it  rolled  farther  it  turned  into  a  skunk.  He  took  it 
back  under  his  blanket  and  threw  out  a  buffalo  chip.  Another  tale  is 
told  of  how  a  war  party  were  without  tobacco.  One  of  the  braves  asked 
his  companions  to  whittle  down  a  piece  of  bark  to  the  size  of  tobacco, 
then  he  put  dirt  on  and  began  to  rub  it,  blew  on  it,  and  when  he  showed  it, 
it  was  a  piece  of  tobacco,  which  he  smoked.  Little-rump  saw  another 
man  put  dirt  and  ashes  into  his  pahii,  rub  them,  and  produce  four  beads. 

A  similar  trick  was  witnessed  by  Gray^bull.  He  had  a  comrade 
named  Wants-to-Uve  (im-hidc).  One  night  they  were  out  looking  for 
girls  and  wished  to  smoke,  but  had  no  tobacco.  Wants-to-live  told 
Gray-bull  to  get  bark  from  a  tree.  He  brought  it  to  him.  He  took  the 
bark  in  his  hand  and  shook  it  in  the  air  for  a  while,  then  handed  it  to 
Gray-bull,  telling  him  to  take  it.     It  was  a  piece  of  tobacco  and  my 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  353 

informant  smoked  it.  Another  time  this  same  man  took  mud,  rolled  it 
into  four  balls  in  his  hands,  glued  them  to  his  hand,  and  gave  them  to 
Gray-bull.    They  were  four  beads  such  as  Gray-bull  wore  in  his  necklace. 

Another  man  is  mentioned  who  had  like  powers ;  his  name  was  Old- 
man-does-what-no-one-can-do  (bart-wahirisa-isd'ke) .  When  his  tobacco 
was  being  consimied  by  himseK,  he  managed  to  maintain  his  supply, 
but  not  if  someone  else  smoked  t. 

One  man  had  the  Sun  for  his  medicine.  He  had  seen  the  Sun 
painting  himself  red  all  over,  then  taking  charcoal  and  marking  a  black 
oval  round  his  face,  which  he  exhibited  to  the  visionary.  The  man  was 
able  thereafter  to  paint  his  face  in  the  same  way  by  putting  charcoal 
towards  the  sun  and  merely  making  the  motion  of  painting  an  oval. 
The  people  knew  about  this  medicine.  Its  owner  gave  the  painting 
medicine  to  various  men,  all  of  whom  proved  successful,  some  even  be- 
coming chiefs. 

Three-wolves  narrated  the  following  as  an  instance  of  shamanistic 
power  he  had  witnessed.  One  winter  when  the  snow  was  very  deep  some 
youths  were  pursuing  buffalo  afoot;  four  men  went  along.  One  man 
with  a  six-shooter  said,  "I'll  take  you  where  there  is  something  to  eat." 
He  took  them  towards  the  mountains,  where  they  saw  buffalo  crossing  a 
canyon  far  away.  "If  we  go  there,  it  will  take  us  all  night."  Their 
leader  said,  "We'll  go  to  the  brush  and  get  a  rabbit."  He  and  Three- 
wolves  went  there  and  found  a  herd  of  buffalo  lying  down  not  far  away. 
"I'll  see  whether  I  can  kill  one,"  said  the  shaman,  taking  off  his  robe. 
He  told  Three-wolves  to  ascend  a  hillock.  Then  he  approached  the 
buffalo,  took  something,  and  made  a  movement  as  if  throwing  some  ob- 
ject. Wlien  the  buffalo  saw  him,  they  rushed  towards  a  hill,  where  one 
of  them  fell  down,  so  that  the  medicineman  could  easily  dispatch  him 
with  two  shots.  He  butchered  the  buffalo  and  showed  my  informant  a 
Httle  burr  he  had  thrown  into  the  buffalo's  back  where  the  sinews  meet. 
"That  is  what  I  crippled  him  with."  He  took  back  the  burr,  but  Three- 
wolves  does  not  know  what  he  did  with  it. 

Invulnerability. 
Relative  invulnerability  or  marvelous  powers  of  recuperation  are 
credited  to  a  number  of  medicinemen.  Thus,  within  Little-rump's 
lifetime  a  man  named  Hole-in-his-ear  was  shot  through  the  collarbone 
with  an  arrow  but  recovered.  In  another  battle  he  was  shot  in  the  back 
with  a  gun  but  was  restored  to  health.  People  began  to  think  that  he 
could  not  be  killed,  but  at  last  the  Piegan  while  pursuing  a  party  of 


354         Anthropological  Papers  American  Musenm  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Crow  horse-raiders  shot  him  in  the  head  and  killed  him.  Bull-snake  is 
mentioned  as  a  mm  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake  and  apparently  unable  to 
travel  back  to  camp.  His  companion  left  him  to  notify  his  people,  but 
when  they  came  to  look  for  him  he  had  started  home  by  himself.^  Another 
man  was  shot  through  the  knee,  but  was  well  enough  to  walk  within  ten 
days.  He  was  shot  in  the  back  subsequently,  but  not  killed.  At  last  he 
died  from  illness.  After  his  death  the  Crow  got  to  where  his  body  was 
and  found  that  his  bones  were  all  covered  with  iron.  His  name  was 
Badger-arm.  He  was  very  strong.  Once  he  killed  a  buffalo  and  some 
people  said  he  ought  to  have  killed  it  in  the  shade  so  that  they  could 
butcher  in  comfort;  he  seized  it  by  the  tail  and  dragged  it  into  the  shade. 
Another  Crow  named  Black-elk  was  shot  and  killed  by  the  Dakota. 
People  saw  him  fall  on  the  snow  with  blood  issuing  from  his  nose  and 
mouth.  The  other  Crow  went  on  and  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Reno. 
During  the  night  the  Crow  who  had  been  killed  caught  up  with  them. 
They  asked  where  he  came  from  and  he  told  them.  It  was  the  same  man. 
Later  he  stole  some  Cheyenne  horses  and  the  Cheyenne  killed  him  for 
good. 

Miraculous  powers  are  attributed  to  a  legendary  shaman  Big-iron.^ 
He  is  believed  to  have  aged,  died,  and  come  back  to  Hfe  three  times 
before  living  for  the  fourth  and  last  time;  thus  his  span  of  life  covered 
four  generations.  He  was  so  powerful  that  he  ventured  to  challenge 
Thunder  and  succeeded  in  overcoming  him  and  other  supernatural 
beings.  What  seems  very  remarkable  is  that  according  to  both  the  tradi- 
tion and  an  independent  statement,  he  told  the  Crow  to  make  offerings 
and  pray  to  him  after  he  had  died  the  fourth  time  and  that  he  would  then 
grant  their  requests.  He  also  prophesied  as  to  the  coming  of  the  Whites 
and  his  people's  relations  with  them  and  what  he  foretold  came  true. 

Charming  Game. 
Calling  buffalo  or  deer  constituted  a  particular  form  of  shamanistic 
activity  based  on  specific  visions.  Thus,  a  brother  of  Bear-crane's, 
while  watering  horses,  caught  sight  of  some  buffalo  hair  and  a  slice  of  fat 
some  four  inches  long  on  a  rosebush  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek.  He 
brought  the  hair  and  the  fat  home  with  him,  wrapped  them  up,  and  tied 
them  to  the  top  of  the  backrest.  When  he  slept  that  night,  he  dreamt  of  a 
man  singing  and  shaking  a  rattle  and  a  great  many  buffalo  came  to  the 
singer.    When  the  dreamer  looked  at  the  man,  the  latter  said,  "Make  a 

'See  Lowie,  this  volume,  281. 
^This  volume,  288-298. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  355 

rattle  like  this,  putting  a  buffalo  hoof  on  it,  sing  and  shake  the  rattle, 
and  buffalo  will  come  to  you.  The  fat  you  picked  up  was  myself;  I  am  a 
buffalo.  Take  a  buffalo  hide,  paint  it,  take  this  rattle,  wrap  it  up  wdth 
the  hide,  and  hang  it  up."    He  went  and  carried  out  these  directions. 

At  that  time  the  Indians  were  starving  for  lack  of  game.  The  vision- 
ar}^  went  and  cleaned  his  lodge.  Beside  his  bed  he  placed  dirt,  in  which  he 
marked  the  tracks  of  big  buffalo  and  of  calves.  He  greased  his  lips  with 
the  fat,  also  took  out  the  rattle,  smudged  it  with  incense  of  sweetgrass, 
and  began  to  bellow  like  a  bull.  The  next  time  he  put  the  rattle  on  the 
same  place  and  bellowed  like  a  cow.  The  third  time  he  imitated  Httle 
calves,  and  the  fourth  time  old  buffalo.  Wlien  the  sun  had  gone  down, 
he  gathered  together  all  the  men  in  his  tent  and  asked,  ''Where  do  you 
want  the  buffalo?  "On  that  big  level  place  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill." 
He  sang  the  song  he  had  dreamt,  shook  his  rattle  and  rolled  it  in  the  mud 
as  though  it  were  a  buffalo  wallowing. 

He  bade  all  the  men  go  home  and  go  to  bed  that  night.  "Tomorrow 
niorning  the  buffalo  will  ])e  here."  The  next  morning  he  heard  the  bulls 
bellowing  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill.  "Get  up,  the  buffalo  are  here." 
They  got  up,  saddled  horses,  mounted,  and  went.  The  whole  plain 
was  covered  with  buffalo  and  still  more  were  coming.  The}^  were  tired 
and  could  not  run  fast.  The  last  time  Bear-crane's  brother  worked  his 
medicine  iwy  informant  was  a  little  bo}'^  of  about  five. 

Big-ox  is  also  credited  with  having  had  the  power  of  luring  game. 
Once  the  people  could  not  find  any  game.  Big-ox  bade  them  get  a  buffalo 
skull  and  put  its  nose  toward  the  camp.  In  the  night  they  began  to  sing. 
In  the  morning  the}'  saw  six  head  of  buffalo  and  killed  them.  The  fol- 
lowing morning  they  again  found  several  head.  When  they  had  had 
enough,  Big-ox  bade  them  turn  the  sktiU  round,  then  they  did  not  see 
any  more  buffalo.  Another  old  man  painted  buffalo  tracks  around  the 
camp,  smoked  incense  and  sang,  "I  want  to  get  buffalo  in."  He  went  out 
and  cried,  "Young  men,  get  up-hill;  I  think  I  have  seen  some  buffalo." 
Early  in  the  morning  some  young  fellow  got  up  and  saw  some  buffalo 
going  up-hill.  He  went  home  to  tell  the  rest  and  the}^  killed  some  buffalo. 
Every  morning  they  i-epeated  this  until  they  had  plenty  of  meat. 

One-horn  recollected  several  instances  of  buffalo-charming.  Once 
the  Indians  were  hungry  and  could  not  find  any  buffalo.  They  called  an 
old  man  to  charm  the  game.  He  told  the  heralds  to  bid  a  young  man  go 
to  a  pond  nearby  and  they  would  find  some.  A  young  man  rose  early, 
went  there,  and  discovered  two  big  herds.  He  told  the  people,  who  went 
out  to  kill  the  buffalo.    At  another  time  the  Crow  were  camped  at  the 


356         A7Uhropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Little  Bighorn  confluence.  Buffalo  were  scared  off  and  the  people  asked 
Big-shoulder,  one  of  One-horn's  friends,  whether  he  could  get  the  game 
nearer  to  them.  He  had  a  bonnet  made  of  a  buffalo  head  with  the  horns 
and  hung  it  high  up  on  a  pole.  Then  he  told  the  people  that  the  buffalo 
were  going  to  come  close  to  the  camp.  They  sent  out  a  scout,  but  he 
could  not  find  any.  They  told  Big-shoulder,  who  bade  them  try  again; 
if  none  were  espied  this  time  he  would  give  up.  Big-shoulder  asked  the 
same  scout  to  go  out  again  to  Porcupine  Valley,  about  eight  or  nine  miles 
away.  This  time  he  saw  buffalo,  returned,  and  told  the  Indians,  who 
went  out  and  got  plenty  of  meat.  Another  time  a  man  told  the  Indians 
to  look  for  buffalo  near  a  high  mountain.  They  sent  out  a  scout,  who 
espied  a  dozen  and  reported.  The  Indians  killed  them.  The  shaman 
told  them  that  every  day  they  would  find  a  few  head  there,  but  they 
failed  to  find  any  after  the  first  time  and  lost  faith  in  his  powers.  Then 
he  no  longer  made  medicine.  He  had  a  coyote  skin  and  an  eagle  wing 
for  medicines  to  lure  the  buffalo. 

One-  horn  also  recounted  one  instance  of  buffalo  charming  in  con- 
nection with  a  shamanistic  conflict.  Yellow-buffalo  and  Jackrabbit- 
head  had  quarreled  about  women.  Jackrabbit-head  got  up  a  war  party. 
Yellow-buffalo  knew  about  it  and  made  medicine  so  that  Jackrabbit- 
head  should  fail  to  see  any  game  on  the  warpath  and  starve  in  conse- 
quence. The  party  were  out  for  two  days,  when  a  young  man  told  Jack- 
rabbit-head about  Yellow-buffalo's  attempt  to  starve  them.  Then  the 
leader  knew  that  he  should  not  accomplish  anything  on  the  warpath. 
All  were  afoot.  On  the  third  day  they  still  saw  no  game.  The  wind 
blew  so  that  the  deer  scented  the  hunters.  For  three  days  they  had  had 
nothing  to  eat.  Jackrabbit-head  said  to  one  man,  "Get  one  nice  un- 
broken buffalo  chip."  He  brought  it.  Yellow-buffalo's  medicine  was  the 
wind,  while  Jackrabbit-head' s  was  the  Dipper.  He  said,  "Yellow-buffalo 
has  been  against  me.  I'll  try  to  make  it  so  we  can  get  something  to  eat. 
I  have  a  good  medicine;  I  think  it  is  stronger  than  his,  for  it  is  the  Seven 
Stars."  He  smoothed  the  ground  inside  his  tent  and  marked  a  buffalo 
track  on  the  smooth  surface.  He  put  the  chip  on  the  buffalo  track  and 
took  off  a  medicine-rock  necklace  he  wore.  This  rock  was  covered  with 
buckskin  and  shaped  like  a  person's  face.  He  uncovered  the  rock  and 
rubbed  some  fat  from  a  skin  on  its  face ;  he  also  rubbed  it  with  yellow  paint. 
Someone  filled  a  pipe  and  passed  it  round  till  it  got  to  Jackrabbit-head, 
who  did  not  have  it  passed  in  front  of  him  like  the  others,  but  over  his 
shoulder  from  the  rear.  This  was  a  sign  that  he  was  going  to  stop  the 
famine.    He  put  the  rock  on  the  chip;    then,  after  smoking,  he  picked 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crou\  357 

up  the  rock  and  put  it  over  his  head  where  he  was  sleeping.  He  left  the 
chip  where  it  was.  They  moved  the  next  morning.  Before  sunrise 
Jackrabbit-head  sent  men  to  Rosebud  Creek  to  scout  for  buffalo.  They 
sighted  from  three  to  four  hundred  head  there,  and  the  party  had  buffalo 
to  eat  all  the  way  home.  This  showed  that  his  medicine  was  better  than 
Yellow-buffalo '  s . 

Some  shamans  called  buffalo  by  dragging  buffalo  skins  tied  to  their 
backs  and  singing  buffalo-bull  songs  on  the  way.  Gray-bull's  brother- 
in-law  was  a  buffalo-shaman;  he  had  the  wolf  for  his  medicine. 

Shamanistic  practices  were  also  combined  with  the  two  methods  of 
driving  game  over  a  cliff  and  into  a  pound.  One  informant  says  that 
when  he  was  a  boy  the  Crow  were  roaming  over  the  Basin.  At  the  end  of 
a  ridge  there  was  a  high  rock  pointing  south  and  on  both  sides  extended 
rocks  two  to  three  hundred  feet  high  to  the  distance  of  about  two  miles. 
Before  daybreak  all  the  people  went  out.  The  shamans  in  charge  sang 
at  night  and  selected  a  man  for  leadership  in  the  morning.  Starting 
from  the  edge  of  the  cliff  and  on  each  side  men  and  \yomen  were  placed 
with  an  intervening  space  of  about  fifty  feet;  farther  back  the  distance 
between  adjoining  sentinels  was  considerably  greater.  Others  formed  an 
arc  of  a  circle  back  of  the  buffalo  herd,  while  at  the  edge  of  the  rocks  old 
people  and  children  were  stationed.  The  buffalo  were  frightened  down 
the  passageway  formed  by  the  two  wings  of  Indians  and  driven  down  the 
precipice  so  as  to  be  killed.  The  old  people  sang  praise  songs  in  honor  of 
those  working  thus.  The  following  day  the  same  procedure  was  followed 
in  the  same  place  with  another  herd,  and  on  the  next  day  it  was  done  a 
third  time.  Then  the  women  tanned  the  hides.  My  informant  knew  of 
another  place  where  a  buffalo  drive  had  taken  place,  but  he  happened  to 
be  on  the  warpath  at  the  time,  hence  had  only  hearsay  knowledge.  This 
time  another  shaman  directed  the  proceedings.  The  rocks  in  this  case 
were  only  about  eight  feet  high  and  the  buffalo  were  not  killed  in  jumping 
down  but  impounded  in  a  corral  of  about  the  same  height,  which  was 
filled  with  from  fifty  to  sixty  head.  A  space  was  left  in  the  structure  by 
which  a  buffalo  could  be  dragged  out  to  be  butchered.  This  method  of 
hunting  was  generally  followed  in  the  fall.  It  was  in  vogue  long  before  the 
Crow  had  iron  arrow-heads. 

Deer  were  also  charmed  either  in  connection  with  the  surround,  the 
corral  or  cHff  method;  the  procedure  is  known  as  u"x-dutu9  (deer-catch- 
ing) .  Bull-all-the-tiine  recollected  an  occasion  when  Cloud  lured  the  deer 
without  the  use  of  a  pound.  He  sang  his  song  outside  the  camp,  and  the 
people  divided  into  two  sides  each  having  one  man  mounted  on  a  fast 


358         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

horse.  They  went  far  out  and  formed  a  circle  round  the  deer.  Possibly 
it  is  the  same  enterprise  that  is  more  circumstantially  recounted  by 
Bear-crane  as  follows.  When  the  people  were  camping  on  the  Powder 
River,  Cloud  told  them  they  were  going  to  catch  deer.  He  sang  for  four 
nights,  and  on  the  fourth  he  cried  out  that  in  the  morning  the  Indians 
were  to  get  their  horses  ready  in  order  to  catch  the  deer.  All  men 
mounted,  led  by  two  men  on  fast  horses.  One  of  these  held  a  foxskin  in 
his  hand,  the  other  wing  feathers.  They  saw  some  deer  about  as  far 
as  from  Crow  Agency  to  Hardin.  All  the  men  were  painted  as  though  on 
a  war  party.  One  man  led  two  fast  horses  for  the  two  leaders  so  that  they 
could  mount  them  as  soon  as  theirs  were  exhausted.  Cloud  stayed 
behind  and  the  other  people  with  the  children  were  behind  him.  They 
had  all  their  dogs  with  them,  leading  them  lest  they  should  go  ahead. 
The  people  ranged  themselves  in  a  circle  surrounding  the  deer  and  were 
hallooing  and  singing.  Cloud  had  a  big  pipe  with  a  fox  hide  tied  to  it  and 
moved  it  toward  the  deer,  which  kept  circUng  around.  When  all  got 
close  to  the  deer,  they  turned  their  dogs  loose.  Thus  they  caught  the 
deer.  They  got  so  close  to  them  that  the  deer  could  jump  over  their  heads 
and  run  away  if  not  caught,  but  most  of  them  were  caught.  The  people 
were  so  glad  that  they  sang  such  songs  about  the  deer  as  the  following: 
"A  deer  is  coming  running  toward  me;  I  am  going  to  get  a  neck  piece 
and  the  hindquarters."  Cloud  always  wore  a  white  cloth  round  his 
head  and  walked  with  a  stoop  at  every  step. 

Another  informant  described  the  deer  hunt  as  follows.  A  man  while 
fasting  would  see  a  vision  of  the  deer  hunt.  In  the  spring ,  when  the  grass 
was  good,  the  young  men  and  women  were  called  with  the  cry:  "It  is 
time  to  catch  deer!"  Then  three  kinds  of  men  were  sought, — those  who 
had  medicine  for  speed,  those  having  the  fastest  horses,  and  those  who 
had  earned  coups.  All  these  men  were  assembled  and  divided  into  two 
diverging  semicircles,  the  women  bringing  up  the  rear.  In  this  way  they 
would  enclose  a  tract  of  several  miles.  Two  men,  one  on  each  side,  rode 
the  best- winded  horses;  they  were  carrjang  arrows  and  were  called  arrow- 
runners,  (ak-aruute-wase) .  The  shaman  sang  four  songs,  wearing  a  buffalo 
robe  dressed  with  the  hair.  In  each  hand  he  held  a  pipe  and  he  made 
motions  with  his  hands.  "When  I  close  the  fourth  song,  you  shall  begin 
to  run."  Then  they  all  began  to  run,  the  leaders  taking  the  lead  on  their 
respective  sides  and  meeting  in  front.  The  people  all  followed  along 
semicircles  so  as  to  surround  the  deer  and  closed  the  circle.  In  those  days 
there  were  very  few  guns;  they  shot  the  deer  with  arrows.  It  was  con- 
sidered unlucky  to  let  any  deer  escape.    The  deer  would  circle  round  and 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  359 

round,  finally  gathering  in  a  body  when  worn  out  and  piHng  on  top  of 
one  another  Uke  sheep.  The  young  men  gave  their  mistresses  a  gift  of 
venison.  The  last  deer  hunt  of  this  kind  took  place  the  sprifig  after 
Gray-bull  was  born,  which  would  make  the  date  approximately  1848. 
Another  method  was  to  have  two  hues  of  rock  piles  leading  to  a  cutbank, 
with  people  strung  out  in  the  intervening  spaces,  equipped  with  blankets 
to  wave  at  the  deer,  which  were  driven  from  the  rear  between  the  two 
rows  of  sentries  and  ultimately  down  the  bank. 

As  to  the  corral  method,  the  following  data  were  secured.  One  night 
there  was  singing,  conducted  by  the  headman  and  his  four  assistants, 
while  the  herald  ordered  everyone  else  to  keep  still  except  that  at  certain 
points  in  the  song  all  had  to  knock  against  their  lodges  and  express  a  wish 
to  get  a  buck  or  a  doe.  The  pound  was  on  level  ground;  no  posts  were 
set  up  and  there  were  no  mountains  there.  Two  men  riding  the  best 
horses  were  chosen  to  lead  the  drive  and  they  encircled  the  country  from 
opposite  directions,  enclosing  a  much  larger  territory  than  in  the  buffalo 
chase.  The  people  kept  on  closing  in  and  the  deer  were  kept  running  all 
the  time.  Sometunes  some  wolves  would  be  enclosed  with  the  deer.  The 
last  time  this  was  done  at  the  Yellowstone  River.  One  man  named 
Rawhide  was  a  Crazy  Dog;  he  followed  the  deer  round  acting  Uke  a  dog 
and  chasing  them  away  till  the  people  stopped  him.  Cloud,  who  is 
credited  with  having  conducted  the  ceremonial  side  of  the  surround,  is 
also  described  as  superintending  a  corral  drive.  He  selected  two  swift 
men,  each  holding  an  arrow,  and  told  them  to  run  as  fast  as  possible 
and  then  cross  each  other's  path.  They  scared  the  deer,  which  were 
impounded  by  the  people.  In  another  account  only  one  of  the  young 
runners  is  represented  as  holding  an  arrow,  while  the  other  is  made  to 
carry  a  feather. 

The  use  of  sacred  rocks  in  charming  game  is  described  under 
another  heading  (p.  389). 

War  Shamans. 
With  a  people  of  so  martial  a  cast  of  thought  as  the  Crow  many 
shamans  naturally  had  special  medicines  for  war.  Their  services  were 
eagerly  sought  by  men  desirous  of  distinguishing  themselves,  who  would 
ask  to  be  equipped  for  an  expedition  or  to  be  adopted  by  the  shamans, 
thus  gaining  part  ownership  of  their  medicine,  though  at  times  the 
shaman  himseK  took  the  initiative,  offering  to  make  the  transfer.  No- 
horse  gave  the  following  generic  statement  on  the  subject: — 


360        Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

If  a  man  dreamt  of  a  certain  horse,  he  might  say  to  another  man, 
"Take  my  medicine  and  get  such  and  such  a  horse."  The  second  man 
would  reply,  "All  right;  if  I  bring  the  horse,  you  shall  own  it."  Then 
the  shaman  would  continue,  "You  must  know  something  about  this 
medicine,  you  may  keep  it."  "If  there  is  a  day  when  I  do  not  know 
something  about  the  medicine,  will  you  help  me  out?"  "Yes,  I  will  help 
you  out,  now  you  are  my  child."  Possibly  the  warrior  himself  had  a 
di-eam  and  saw  a  place  for  his  party  to  go  to.  Then  he  would  go  to  his 
adoptive  father,  saying,  "You  offered  to  help  me;  open  the  medicine  bag 
and  fix  it  as  it  ought  to  be."  He  did  so  and  incensed  it  appropriately. 
"I  will  start  out,  and  if  I  get  the  horses  I  have  in  mind  I'll  give  you  some." 
If  he  had  good  luck,  he  would  sleep  about  the  outskirts  of  the  camp  on  his 
return  and  look  for  the  shaman's  lodge  at  night.  He  would  say  to  him, 
"I  have  brought  a  herd  of  horses,  and  yours  is  such-and-such  a  horse." 
Then  before  dawn  the  old  man  would  sing  his  song  of  rejoicing.  When 
the  people  heard  him,  they  knew  that  his  son  had  achieved  something 
woi'th  while.  The  next  morning  the  son  brought  the  horse  to  his  adop- 
tive father. 

If  the  warrior  failed  in  his  enterprise,  he  had  his  men  form  a  line 
on  a  hill  and  sang  scout  songs  (tsttpuxud).     Then  he  reported  to  his 
'father.'    "Where  I  went  there  was  nothing  and  I  have  come  back.    See 
what  you  can  do  with  me."    "I'll  send  you  myself  now.    Make  a  sweat- 
lodge  about  four  days  hence,  with  a  small  one  beside  it.    Call  the  older 
men  and  we'll  go  into  the  sweatlodge  with  them."    So  all  would  go  in  and 
sweat.     Then  the  shaman  would  bid  them  go  to  a  certain  tipi,  where  they 
feasted,  then  he  spoke  as  follows:    "My  son  went  on  the  warpath  and 
came  back  without  anything.  My  heart  is  heavy  and  I  want  to  say  some- 
thing;   I  wish  all  of  you  to  listen.    He  made  this  medicine,  thinking  it 
was  true,  but  it  seems  not.    I  want  to  put  it  aside  and  send  him  out  with 
another.    Four  days  from  now  go  again  without  hiding  it.    The  moon  is 
bigger  now;   the  first  time  you  went  the  moon  was  just  dying,  that  was 
the  mistake  we  made.    When  you  set  out,  let  the  women  ride  behind  you 
and  sing.    Have  everything  ready.     As  soon  as  the  women  have  dis- 
mounted, go  on  for  a  short  distance  and  sleep.    I'll  sleep  with  you  there. 
Have  another  stop  about  the  same  distance,  and  similarly  with  the  third. 
Have  all  your  meat  eaten  up.    On  the  fourth  day  hunt  and  kill  game  for 
meat.    Then  my  soul  will  return^  and  you  shall  go  right  on."    The  medi- 
cine might  be  a  bird.     "On  the  fourth  night  when  you  awake  a  bird 

'It  is  the  shaman's  soul  that  is  supposed  to  have  accompanied  the  warrior. 


1922.]  Lome,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  361 

will  come  flying  toward  you.  If  it  looks  backwards  and  seems  restless, 
turn  back  and  run  home.  If  it  flies  with  ease,  not  shaking  its  wings, 
sing  songs  of  joy  and  proceed;  in  that  case  you  may  depend  on  success. 
This  bird  coming  will  be  myself.  When  you  know  that  you  are  near  the 
enemy,  see  that  your  lodge  is  without  a  hole  and  put  out  the  fire  after 
you  have  eaten.  When  singing,  look  round  and  you'll  see  sometliing. 
You  will  find  out  whether  any  of  your  men  is  to  be  kiUed  or  whether  you 
are  to  have  good  luck.  If  the  former  is  the  case,  come  right  back." 
The  warrior  would  obey  these  instructions,  put  out  the  fire,  and  sing. 
He  might  see  blankets  and  saddles  scattered  about  with  his  men's 
shirts  and  clothes.  Then  he  would  have  the  fire  rekindled  and  say,  ''Let 
us  saddle  up  and  flee."  In  that  case  he  would  return.  Some  might  say, 
"The  leader  is  timid"  and  would  advance  toward  the  enemy.  Such 
men  always  met  with  disaster  and  the  tribe  could  not  hold  the  captain 
responsible  for  their  death  since  they  had  disobeyed  him. 

If  the  brave  saw  a  black  or  white  or  some  other  horse,  he  sang  songs 
of  jo3^  As  soon  as  his  companions  heard  these,  they  cried,  "Thanks!" 
Each  one  would  say,  "I  want  one  like  this,"  'T  want  one  like  that," 
"If  I  get  a  good  gelding,  I  shall  rejoice."  A  bird  would  appear  from  the 
proper  direction,  possibly  bearing  in  its  beak  a  scalp  or  some  hair  string. 
Then  the  captain  said,  "I  was  sent  out  for  horses,  but  it  seems  they  want 
me  to  do  some  kilhng."  His  companions  might  say,  "If  I  strike  a  coup, 
I'll  give  you  a  horse" ;  or,  "If  I  get  a  gun,  I'll  give  you  a  horse."  Some 
possibly  protested.  "We  have  come  for  horses,  we  have  not  come  to  kill." 
In  a  war  party  there  are  generally  a  lieutenant  (tptse-aivud,  inside-the- 
pipe),  a  scout,  and  a  rear  officer  {hdkace,  the  last  one),  who  is  supposed  to 
be  a  long-distance  runner  and  who  pokes  those  in  front  in  the  back  with 
his  gun  lest  they  slacken  their  pace.'  These  officers  discuss  the  plan  of 
action  with  the  leader  and  if  all  three  join  against  him  he  is  helpless. 
One  of  them  might  say,  "When  you  set  out,  you  spoke  about  horses,  that 
is  why  we  came."  Another  would  saj',  "I  came  to  get  a  horse  that  I 
might  display,  now  I  want  you  to  do  as  I  wish."  Then  the  leader  would 
yield :  "All  right,  tomorrow  before  daylight  you  will  be  on  top  of  a  certain 
hill,  sight  the  hostile  camp  and  come  back  immediately.  When  on  top, 
stay  till  after  sunrise  and  watch  for  the  smoke.  Look  over  the  ground 
and  see  how  we  shall  have  to  run  in  fleeing.    Find  out  what  place  we  shall 

'This  officer  may  depose  any  of  the  other  scout.s  for  sleeping  too  long  or  on  account  of  other  delin- 
quencies. He  selects  additional  scouts.  The  leading  scout  carries  a  wolfskin,  the  lesser  ones  generally 
do  not,  but  may  carry  coyote  skins.  Sometimes  the  wolf  hide  is  put  on  the  scout's  head  when  he  is 
spying  from  a  cliff  in  order  to  prevent  discovery.  In  cold  weather  the  hide  is  used  as  a  covering.  Some 
think  to  themselves,  "If  I  happen  to  go  astray,  a  wolf  will  help  me  out."  The  scout's  hide  is  slimg  over 
his  back  so  the  head  will  pro.iect  over  his  left  shoulder. 


362         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

reach  before  it  gets  dark.  If  it  is  near  by,  tell  us  and  we'll  stay  where  we 
are.  Even  if  I  have  to  move,  we'll  go  slowly.  If  the  camp  is  not  very 
far,  send  one  of  yom-  men  back."  If  the  scout  sees  the  camp  and  judges 
it  to  be  far  off,  he  so  reports.  The  leader  decides  to  move  and  tells  the 
scout,  "We  shall  move  slowly  up  to  such  and  such  a  place.  If  none  of 
your  men  reaches  me  by  that  time,  we  shall  move  fast."  If  a  runner  came 
back  from  the  scouts,  giving  the  coyote  howl,  the  leader's  party  would 
sing  and  gather  up  chips  into  a  pile.  The  scout  who  gives  the  signal 
circled  round  and  repeated  this  when  close  to  the  party.  At  last  he  came 
directly  up  to  the  heap  of  chips.  The  leader  had  a  pipe  filled  and  gave  it 
to  the  scout  to  smoke.  The  scout  reported:  ''At  a  certain  creek,  as  the 
sun  came  up,  I  saw  the  enemy's  camp;  even  those  boys  saw  the  smoke." 
If  he  saw  the  camp  at  close  range  and  distinguished  horses  and  people 
clearly,  he  sent  men  back  to  announce  it  to  those  in  the  rear.  A  single 
howl  indicated  that  the  camp  was  seen  at  a  great  distance;  two  howls, 
that  it  was  close.  When  the  messenger  shook  his  gun,  the  people  inter- 
preted it  also  as  meaning  that  the  camp  was  close.  The  messenger, 
whether  afoot  or  mounted,  ran  over  the  buffalo  chips,  scattering  them. 
"Our  leader  has  given  orders  for  you  to  come  to  yonder  point.  The  camp 
is  close,  you  had  better  hide  in  the  coulee  as  much  as  possible.  Throw  all 
your  heavy  stuff  (blankets,  etc.)  away,  look  out  for  your  guns,  cinch 
your  saddles  and  have  everything  prepared."  Then  the  main  body 
advanced  toward  the  chief  scout.  "Where  is  the  camp?"  asked  the 
captain.  The  scout  showed  it  to  him  and  said,  "Get  out  your  medicines 
and  make  incense.  Get  ready.  Some  of  these  men  had  better  go  back 
to  wait  for  the  leader  for  four  days  on  the  way  home.  If  I  don't  get  there, 
I  shall  have  been  chased  another  way.  When  at  home,  make  a  signal 
fire  at  the  outskirts;  and  if  I  am  behind  you  I  shall  make  a  similar  signal. 
If  you  see  my  smoke,  you'll  know  that  I  have  had  good  luck  and  brought 
horses.  That  is  all  I  have  to  say  to  you."  Some  member  of  this  expedi- 
tion probably  has  a  blackbird  for  his  medicine.  The  captain  asks  for. 
such  a  one,  and  whether  he  be  a  little  boy  or  an  older  person  he  is  put 
in  the  lead.  At  night  the  party  arrives  at  the  enemy's  camp  and  all  seat 
themselves  at  the  outslcirts.  The  captain  now  appoints  a  leading  and  a 
rear  scout,  and  his  heutenant  likewise  appoints  two.  They  go  to  the 
outside  of  the  camp  to  find  horses  that  are  most  easily  taken.  "Bring 
them  here  directly.  If  all  the  horses  are  tied,  we'll  get  in  and  try  to  cut 
them.  If  any  are  grazing,  they  will  capture  them."  Then  the  man  get- 
ting the  kind  of  horse  promised  to  the  captain  (either  in  his  own  or  his 
shaman's  vision)  gives  it  to  the  captain,  who  accepts  it.    After  a  while 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  363 

the  captain  says,  "We  have  enough  horses  now,  let  us  flee."  They  run 
all  night  and  the  following  day.  Any  horses  that  are  exhausted  are  made 
to  drop  behind.  The  party  continue  going  for  two  days  and  two  nights. 
On  the  fourth  day  they  halt  to  get  to  the  body  detached  from  the  main 
party,  and  each  one  of  this  smaller  group  gets  a  horse.  They  proceed  till 
they  get  to  the  Crow  camp,  where  they  halt.  The  leader  goes  to  the 
shaman  and  tells  him,  "My  heart  is  good  (I  am  glad),  I  have  brought 
many."  Before  sunrise  all  his  companions  come  to  camp,  circle  round, 
and  finally  disperse.  It  does  not  matter  how  many  horses  are  brought, 
all  are  driven  before  the  shaman's  camp.  "This  is  what  I  have  brought; 
I  give  them  all  to  you."  The  shaman  sings  a  song  of  rejoicing.  "It  is 
well.  You  tired  yourseK  out  getting  them;  take  them  and  keep  them 
yourself  or  distribute  them  among  your  relatives.  I  am  the  one  that 
gives  them  to  you.  I  rejoice.  You  know  that  I  have  now  given  you  all 
that  medicine.  Go  and  do  about  it  as  you  choose."  Thus  the  captain 
gets  to  own  the  medicine  and  uses  it  as  he  pleases. 

To  the  foregoing  may  be  added  a  specific  account  by  another  in- 
formant. 

Sore-tail  was  famous  for  sending  people  out  on  the  warpath.  Once 
a  man  named  Hair  set  out  on  an  expedition.  He  left  his  hoop  medicine 
on  a  sagebrush  and  told  his  followers  to  take  it  along.  They  put  it 
round  a  dog's  neck  and  had  him  carry  it.  Hair  said  to  them,  "You  have 
spoiled  my  luck ;  I  was  counting  on  victory ;  I'll  return  tomorrow."  Two 
scouts  came  in  and  reported  what  they  had  seen.  White-on-the-neck 
said,  "Those  are  liot  elk  but  people."  When  it  got  dark  they  heard  the 
howUng  of  a  wolf.  White-on-the-neck  said,  "That  is  no  Wolf,  you  had 
better  prepare  for  the  enemy."  They  were  going  to  send  a  boy  for 
water.  He  said,  "I'll  go  myself."  As  he  dipped  up  some  water,  he  heard 
a  bush  snapping.  He  bade  the  warriors  hasten  to  their  entrenchment. 
The  enemy  charged  and  shot  one  Crow  in  the  breast.  The  captain  re- 
minded them  that  they  had  put  his  medicine  on  a  dog.  Two  men  were 
wounded,  one  of  them  took  his  brother  on  horseback  and  they  fled  riding 
double.  They  got  to  the  Crow  camp  and  reported  that  the  rest  of  the 
party  were  surrounded  in  their  corral.  All  the  young  men  immediately 
set  out  to  reHeve  them,  but  when  they  arrived  the  Dakota  had  made  their 
escape  with  some  of  the  Crow  horses.  The  comrades  of  the  slain  Crow 
mourned  pubHcly,  They  loaded  several  horses  with  presents;  some 
stopped  at  Sore-tail's  lodge,  some  at  the  informant's  father's,  some  at  a 
female  warrior's,  embracing  them  and  crying.    Sore-tail  said,  "Tomorrow 


364         Anthropological  Papers  American  Mnsenm  of  Naiural  History.      [Vol.  XXV 

make  all  the  moccasins  you  intend  to  take  along,  the  following  day  get 
3^our  horses,  then  report  to  me."  He  said  three  Dakota  had  already  been 
given  to  him  in  a  dream.  He  bade  all  the  people  come  out,  including  the 
women,  for  a  ceremony  before  the  beginning  of  the  expedition.  A  big 
pile  of  buffalo  chips  was  heaped  up.  Sore-tail  told  people  to  watch  him 
at  noon,  to  go  i-ound  the  camp  singing,  and  report  to  him,  then  they  would 
proceed  towards  the  pile  of  chips.  As  soon  as  Sore-tail  was  read}',  he  took 
the  three  captains  and  made  them  sit  down  in  front  of  him.  He  sang  a 
song,  pointing  at  the  sun,  then  at  the  informant's  father,  and  the  latter 
was  (iecorated  with  yellow  i)aint  there.  Similarh-  he  ]iut  red  paint  on 
him.  'Til  paint  him  with  two  colors,  the  rest  of  you  with  only  one." 
He  put  hhw  paint  on  the  second  captain.  The  fourth  time  he  sang, 
pointing  at  tiie  sun  and  the  female  warrior,  who  was  painted  black.  The 
three  captains  cried,  "Thanks!"  Sore-tail,  wearing  a  buffalo  robe  with  a 
whole  eagle  on  it,  sat  down  on  the  pile  of  chips.  "Watch  me  closel}'," 
he  said;  "I  shall  sing  four  songs,  then  I  shall  rise  from  this  pile.  Watch 
me  when  I  rise."  They  all  watched  him.  He  rose  and  turned  into  an 
eagle  holding  the  scalp  of  an  enemy  in  each  claw.  'Tn  seven  days  j'ou 
shall  be  back  here.  The  first  one  you  kill  will  lack  one  hand.  As  soon 
as  you  kill  an  enemy  put  a  new  moon  on  your  back."  They  sighted  the 
enemy  on  the  Powder  River  on  the  fifth  day;  there  were  seventy  in  the 
hostile  party,  so  the  Crow  confined  their  attention  to  the  three  Dakota 
scouts.  The.v  killed  two  of  them;  the  third  one  evaded  them  for  a  long 
time,  but  was  finally  also  killed.  It  was  found  that  his  right  hand  lacked 
a  thumb,  hence  the  Crow  called  the  year  "When  the  thumbless  man  was 
killed."'  On  the  sixth  day  Soie-tail  told  the  Crow  in  camp  to  prepare 
black  paint.  On  the  seventh  day  Sore-tail  met  the  war  party,  took  one 
of  the  captured  scalps,  and  went  through  camp  exhibiting  it.  There  was 
great  rejoicing  in  the  camp  and  Sore-tail  was  acclaimed  for  sending  out 
the  expedition. 

Sore-tail  on  another  occasion  sent  out  the  informant's  father,  bid- 
ding him  bring  two  Dakota  scalps.  This,  too,  turned  out  true.  Another 
time  Sore-tail  sent  out  the  same  person  telling  him  to  be  gone  for  thirteen 
days  and  bring  a  scalp;  still  another  time  he  bade  him  get  three  enemies, 
and  he  did  so.  Sore-tail  kept  a  pet  eagle,  which  would  fly  outdoors  for  a 
while  and  then  return.  Sometimes  the  eagle  would  whistle,  then  the 
owner  looked  up  and  saw  plenty  of  ])irds,  whereupon  he  warned  the  Crow 
to  tie  up  their  horses  near  camp  since  the  enemy  was  near.  All  the  Crow 
helped  feed  the  eagle. 

•I.owie,  this  series,  vol.  9,  242. 


1922.]  Lotvie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  365 

Red-l)ear  had  a  gun  for  his  medicine.  Once  the  Dakota  were  very 
near  and  about  to  charge  the  Crow.  Bed-bear  told  the  people  to  bring 
their  guns  to  him.  He  burned  sweetgrass  for  incense  and  pointed  his 
gun  towards  it,  asking  it  to  break  the  enemies'  backs,  arms,  and  thighs. 
Then  he  pointed  the  butt  toward  the  incense  and  asked  it  to  break  the 
enemies'  heads.  He  told  his  followers  to  repeat  his  word.  Then  they  all 
imitated  his  motions  and  words,  each  with  his  own  gun.  They  had  their 
gun  drill.  They  cleaned  their  guns  and  pointed  them  at  the  Dakota. 
While  they  were  going  through  their  rhythmic  movements.  Red-bear 
sang.  He  ordered  them  not  to  bring  arrows  into  his  presence  and  told 
them  he  was  about  to  attack  seventeen  lodges.  One-eye  came  at  the  end 
of  the  procession  with  a  bow  and  arrow,  saying,  "These  are  sharp  enough, 
I  can  smoke  them  with  incense."  He  did  so,  pointing  his  arrow  instead 
of  a  gun  at  the  enemy.  The  medicineman  saw  him  but  said  nothing, 
thinking  he  had  given  ample  warning.  They  made  a  dash  against  the 
Dakota  and  no  one  was  hurt  except  the  offender's  brother,  who  was  shot 
in  the  kneecap.  When  enemies  approached,  he  would  shoot  off  a  loaded 
gun  once,  but  thereaftei-  he  would  shoot  it  without  powder,  by  mere 
magic. 

Some  other  shamans  were  renowncnl  for  their  powers  of  prophecy  and 
divination.  Thus,  there  was  an  old  man  who  knew  when  the  enemy  were 
approaching;  he  could  tell  in  how  many  days  and  at  what  time  they  were 
going  to  come  and  told  the  Crow  when  to  watch  for  them  and  kill  them. 
Sometimes  he  prophesied  that  it  would  rain  or  snow  on  the  following  day. 
He  did  not  dream  of  these  things;  something  told  him.  The  Sun  was 
thought  to  be  his  medicine.  He  asked  Indians  to  call  him  "He-sees-all- 
over-the-earth."  His  medicine  consisted  of  a  hoop  to  which  a  star  was 
tied;  the  hoop  was  wrapped  with  otterskin.  Another  man,  who  was 
favored  by  the  Dipper,  acted  in  somewhat  similar  fashion.  He  would 
dispatch  war  parties,  telling  them  precisely  where  to  go  and  what  to  get. 
Though  he  stayed  home,  he  knew  exactly  in  how  many  days  the  warriors 
would  return  and  what  they  had  acc^omplished. 

Sweet-marrow  (dup-tsik'  uac)  had  the  special  ability  of  locating  the 
enemy's  camp.  Once  he  went  on  the  warpath  with  some  others  near  the 
mountains.  At  the  canyon  of  the  Tongue  River  one  of  them  said  to  him, 
"Make  medicine  tonight."  He  bade  them  make  a  shelter  without  any 
holes  in  it.  They  did  so.  He  sang  a  medicine  song.  It  was  dark  inside 
at  night.  He  took  his  pipe  and  looked  through  it.  He  saw  the  hostile 
camp  near  Cold  Spring.  Then  he  sang  .songs  of  rejoicing,  and  his  com- 
panions said,  "Thanks,  Sweet-marrow;     when    we   get   to  the  enemy. 


366        Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.       [Vol.  XXV, 

we'll  cut  a  mule  and  a  horse."  They  stole  a  horse  and  returned.  The 
rest  of  the  Crow  people  were  at  the  Agency.  On  the  return  of  the  party, 
Sweet-marrow  acquired  a  great  reputation.  A  few  days  later  he  went 
out  again.  After  a  while  he  had  a  dream  and  returned  to  camp  while  the 
others  in  the  party  went  on.  Young-coyote,  the  captain,  was  asked  to 
make  medicine  one  night.  Then  he  did  so  and  saw  the  camp,  whereupon 
he  sang  songs  of  joy.  The  others  also  rejoiced.  The  enemy  was  at  the 
site  of  Buffalo,  Wyoming.  In  the  evening  they  had  a  sham  battle,  then 
they  moved  camp  toward  an  old  fort.  Young-coyote's  party  watched 
them  from  a  high  hill.  Before  setting  out  that  night  they  made  medicine. 
Young-coyote  told  the  young  man  to  go  to  the  camp  and  see  about  the 
horses.  They  did  so,  but  the  enemy  must  have  had  dreams,  for  they  had 
rounded  up  their  horses  and  put  them  into  a  corral.  Young-coyote 
sneaked  into  it  nevertheless  and  captured  a  mule  and  a  horse.  He  got 
out  and  traveled  some  distance,  then  stole  two  more.  Grandmother's- 
knif e  said  that  Sweet-marrow  was  the  onl}^  man  who  could  find  a  camp  by 
looking  through  a  pipestem.  He  used  an  ordinary  pipestem  on  the  war- 
path, though  he  also  had  a  special  one.  He  would  hold  his  medicine  over 
incense  at  night,  clean  his  pipestem  and  look  through  it.  He  always  saw 
the  camp  in  the  proper  place.  He  got  his  powers  from  his  father,  who 
got  them  from  Thunder. 

A  curious  method  of  divination  is  attributed  to  Bear-tooth.  At 
one  time  the  Crow  were  all  camped  on  the  Missouri.  The  Piegan  and 
Assiniboin  were  in  the  Musselshell  Valley  and  the  Crow  found  out  that 
the  enemy  was  coming  toward  them.  Bear-tooth  told  the  people  to  bring 
a  rifle;  he  would  shoot  it  off  without  its  being  loaded.  If  it  went  off,  it 
would  be  a  sign  that  the  Crow  were  to  be  victorious.  He  asked  all  the 
people  to  come  and  look  at  him.  "You  don't  believe  me,  but  I  want  all  of 
you  to  see  me  and  each  bring  me  a  little  sagebrush."  He  called  the  crier 
to  herald  the  performance.  "If  the  gun  goes  off,  we'll  start  against  the 
enemy  tomorrow."  The  Indians  got  out.  Bear-tooth  said,  "Leave 
room  for  me  where  I  can  dress  up  in  my  war  clothes.  Some  of  the  wise 
men  may  examine  my  gun  to  see  whether  there  is  any  cartridge  in  it." 
He  was  wearing  fur  moccasins,  canvas  leggings  smoked  brown,  and  a 
similarly  smoked  canvas  shirt.  His  face  was  painted  black  up  to  the 
forehead  and  he  also  blackened  his  chin.  Around  the  head  he  wore  the 
mane  of  a  buffalo.  He  carried  his  gun  on  his  arm  and  went  to  the  wise 
men,  who  were  smoldng  sweetgrass,  pointed  the  gun  at  the  fire,  then 
turned  the  butt  toward  it.  He  got  into  the  center  of  the  crowd,  pulled 
the  trigger,  showed  that  there  were  no  cartridges  there  and  bade  the 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  367 

crier  keep  still.  When  ready  he  said,  "Before  I  shoot  I  shall  sing  a  song. 
If  it  does  not  go  off  the  first  time,  don't  worry.  But  if  it  does  not  go  off 
the  second  time  we  shall  be  badly  defeated.  If  I  succeed,  we  shall  beat 
the  enemy."  All  were  quiet  and  watched  him.  He  stepped  back  to  the 
sweetgrass  fire,  cocked  his  gun  and  sang  the  first  song,  slowly  dancing 
towards  and  away  from  the  fire.  He  pointed  his  gun  at  the  air,  but  it 
did  not  go  off.  The  people  all  thought  they  were  having  bad  luck.  He 
said  he  would  try  again.  He  sang  a  second  song  and  repeated  the  same 
procedure,  as  before,  four  times.  He  bent  his  head  over,  patted  his  right 
ear  and  took  something  out  of  his  left  ear,  putting  it  into  the  gun.  Then 
he  sang  towards  the  fire,  approached  it,  and  shot  off  his  gun,  which  went 
off  as  though  loaded  with  a  cartridge.  Then  he  spoke  thus :  ''At  the  first 
trial  my  gun  did  not  go  off,  so  they  may  kill  four  or  five  of  us,  but  we  shall 
get  the  best  of  them  since  it  went  off  the  second  time."  Early  the  next 
morning  the  Crow  got  ready,  peeped  at  the  enemy  from  over  a  hill,  and 
charged  them  at  sunrise.  They  took  many  old  women,  adults  and 
children  for  captives.  The  following  day  they  placed  these  in  a  row  and 
counted  them :  there  were  about  three  or  four  hundred.  Later  the  Piegan 
returned  and  recaptured  some  of  their  people.  The  captive  girls  grew 
up  and  married  Crow,  hence  there  were  a  good  many  haK-Piegan  among 
the  Crow. 

On  another  occasion  there  were  about  two  hundred  Crow  on  the 
warpath.  They  were  tired  out.  There  were  about  six  or  seven  shamans 
in  the  party,  including  Spotted-horse,  Gros- Ventre,  Curses-the-whole- 
camp,  Bear-tooth,  Smooth-rump,  and  Crazy-bear.  They  were  pursuing 
the  Shoshoni,  who  had  previously  killed  many  of  the  Crow.  After  three 
or  four  days'  journey  they  got  to  one  of  the  Shoshoni  party's  recent 
campsites;  they  found  fresh  meat  there  and  traces  of  seventeen  lodges 
that  had  recently  been  pitched  there.  Traihng  the  enemy  they  got  to  a 
valley  and  riding  at  night  came  to  camp  a  httle  above  the  Shoshoni. 
They  were  ready  to  fight  but  decided  to  wait  until  early  next  morning. 
Before  sunrise  they  approached,  put  on  their  war  dress  and  prepared  for 
the  battle.  Then  the  leader  asked  Spotted-horse  to  use  all  his  medicine 
against  the  enemy.  They  surrounded  the  Shoshoni  camp,  then  Spotted- 
horse  bade  the  warriors  find  a  spring.  They  looked  for  one  till  they  found 
one.  Spotted-horse  came  up,  dressed  in  his  war  regaha,  and  painted  his 
face  and  body  yellow  all  over.  All  his  hair  was  tied  in  the  back  with  black 
flannel.  Then  he  pointed  his  finger  at  the  Sun  and  drew  an  imaginary 
fine  round  his  face  with  it.  "If  I  look  into  the  spring  and  see  a  picture  of 
the  Sun  there,  it  will  be  well  and  I  shall  know  what  is  to  happen,  whether 


368         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  N'atural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

we  shall  conquer  or  be  beaten.  Otherwise  I  shall  give  up."  He  sang  and 
saw  nothing  there.  The  second  time  he  scooped  up  a  handful  of  water 
and  saw  the  Sun  in  it.  First  he  sang  a  war-dance  song,  then  two  medicine 
songs,  then  looked  into  the  spring,  then  went  back  to  where  his  clothes 
were,  sat  down  and  told  a  follower  to  untie  his  hair.  Next  he  asked  for  a 
pipe  to  smoke  and  asked  several  men  to  smoke  with  him.  Then  he  told 
them  what  was  going  to  happen.  All  kept  silent  to  listen  to  him.  "Our 
enemies  are  among  us.  We  shall  capture  and  kill  many.  None  of  us  are 
going  to  be  killed,  but  two  will  be  wounded  and  one  horse  will  be  killed. 
We'll  defeat  our  enemies  and  reach  home  without  trouble.  Don't  be 
afraid.  We  are  going  to  beat  them,  and  while  two  of  you  will  be  wounded 
they  will  not  die  therefrom.  Only  one  horse  is  to  be  killed.  I  have  seen 
an  enemy,  one  girl  with  an  arrow  in  her  shoulder,  she  will  be  a  captive  of 
ours.    We  are  ready  now  and  shall  charge  the  enemy." 

When  the.y  got  near  the  Shoshoni,  Red-bear  stopped  them  to  speak 
to  the  shaman  and  said,  "The}-  have  medicinemen  in  the  enemy's  camp 
too,  but  ours  are  more  powerful.' '  Thin-bull  wanted  to  work  some  of  his 
own  medicine  and  sat  down  before  the  warriors.  He  was  carrying  his 
medicine  round  his  waist  and  opened  it.  He  had  a  spear  with  a  l^uffalo 
tail  at  the  end  of  it;  which  he  laid  beside  him.  He  called  his  l^rother 
Crooked-feet,  who  sat  down  beside  him.  Thin-bull  dug  a  pit  before  his 
brother  and  filled  it  with  red  paint.  Then  he  took  a  string  of  deer  hoofs 
and  rolled  them  about  in  the  pit,  whereupon  he  painted  his  brother's 
face  and  head,  stuck  a  crow  feather  into  the  back  of  his  head,  placed  the 
string  of  deer  hoofs  round  his  neck,  sang  a  song  and  snorted  like  a 
buffalo.    Thin-bull  told  him  not  to  be  afraid  of  any  enemy  in  the  battle. 

The  Crow  had  two  men  climb  trees  and  look  for  the  camp,  which  was 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  Then  they  all  charged  the  eneniA'.  The 
women  had  their  children  in  the  brush.  The  Crow  killed  and  captured 
many  Shoshoni.  One  Crow  had  a  black  horse  killed  under  him,  but 
escaped  unhurt.  Spotted-horse's  prophecy  was  fulfilled.  One  Crow  was 
wounded  in  the  knee,  another  in  the  forehead,  but  neither  was  killed. 
They  returned  home  without  loss  of  a  single  man. 

Wraps-up-his-tail. 
Under  the  heading  of  shamanism  maj'  properly  be  considered  the 
career  of  Wraps-up-liis-tail  (tsls-tsipariac) ,  who  is  sometimes  referred 
to  by  white  writers  as  'the  Prophet.'  He  is  connected  with  the  one 
Crow  uprising  against  the  Government  (1890),  just  before  the  Ghost 
dance  began  to  spread  among  the  Plains  tribes.    Owing  to  Wraps-up-his- 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  369 

tail's  failure,  some  informants  were  inclined  to  regard  him  as  a  pretender, 
but  the  general  consensus  of  opinion  is  to  the  effect  that  he  really  pos- 
sessed medicine  powers. 

The  essential  points  in  his  story  seem  to  be  these :  He  chafed  under 
Governmental  domination  and  on  the  basis  of  a  vision  believed  that  he 
possessed  supernatural  powers.  His  instrument  was  to  be  a  sword  he 
had  somehow  secured,  by  waving  which  he  beheved  he  could  compass  the 
destruction  of  any  force  of  soldiers  sent  against  him.  He  is  said  to  have 
given  a  demonstration  of  its  use  by  cutting  down  some  trees.  The  follow- 
ing is  Gray-bull's  statement : — 

I  think  he  wa.s  medicine.  He  went  on  a  war  party  and  brought  back  horses. 
Early  in  the  morning  he  went  round  camp,  passed  through  the  Agency  and  shot  at  the 
Agent's  house.  Rations  were  being  distributed  then  and  thereafter  the  Indians 
moved.  Wraps-up-his-tail  was  living  on  the  Little  Bighorn,  near  Wyola.  The  Agent 
sent  an  (Indian)  policeman  to  arrest  him,  but  Wraps-up-his-tail  would  not  come,  and 
told  the  pol'ceman  to  bid  the  Agent  himself  come  for  him. 

Somewhat  later  the  war  party  that  had  shot  at  the  Agent's  house  were  brought  to 
the  Agency,  then  Wraps-up-his-tail  went  along.  He  said  he  wanted  to  die  and  the 
Agent  should  hang  him.  The  white  soldiers  were  camped  at  the  foot  of  the  hills, 
just  below  the  Agency.  The  Agent  sent  for  Wraps-up-his-tail  and  asked  whether  he 
preferred  being  imprisoned  or  killed.  He  answered,  "I  want  to  be  killed."  The 
soldiers  were  all  lined  up.  The  followers  of  Wraps-up-his-tail  began  to  make  medicine, 
painted  their  bodies,  faces  and  honses,  and  rode  round  camp.  Wraps-up-his-tail  sat 
on  a  gray  hor.se.  He  painted  black  stripes  on  his  horse's  legs;  he  was  wearing  a  red 
shirt  and  leggings,  with  fringes  at  the  sleeves,  leggings,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  shirt. 
His  foretop  was  very  short.  He  used  red  paint  and  white  clay  on  his  face,  decorating 
it  with  a  lightning  line,  and  tied  a  whistle  to  his  head.  After  painting  up  he  went 
round  camp,  carrying  a  sword.  There  were  no  clouds  at  the  time  but  raindrops  were 
falling.  The  Agent  sent  for  Wraps-up-his-tail  and  had  him  brought  to  the  office. 
He  offered  to  make  him  chief  and  give  him  cattle  and  other  property,  but  Wraps-up- 
his-tail  refused,  saying  he  wi-shed  to  die.    There  was  no  fighting  that  day. 

Spotted-rabbit  arrived  and  asked  Wraps-up-his-tail  whether  he  might  fight  with 
him.  He  said,  "Yes."  Wraps-up-his-tail  made  a  shirt  for  Spotted-rabbit  and  the 
following  day  he  painted  up  and  acted  as  before.  The  soldiers  were  also  lined  up 
again.  Spotted-rabbit  was  carrying  both  a  pistol  and  a  .sword,  Wraps-up-hi.s-tail 
only  a  sword.  When  the  soldiers  had  formed  their  line,  Wraps-up-his-tail  approached 
them  and  said  that  if  they  did  not  kill  him  by  the  time  he  reached  the  end  of  the  line 
he  would  kill  them.  The  soldiers  were  waiting  for  him.  The  Crow  Indians  tried  to 
dissuade  him;  Crazy-head  and  Deaf-bull  were  the  only  chiefs  siding  with  him,  the  rest 
of  the  Crow  merely  looked  on.  Spotted-rabbit  and  Wraps-up-his-tail  were  like  the 
Sun  that  day.  They  ran  in  front  of  the  line  and  the  soldiers  began  to  shoot  at  them. 
They  could  not  hit  him.  When  he  got  to  the  end  of  the  line,  they  shot  him  in  the 
arm.  Then  he  and  Spotted-rabbit  went  to  the  river.  The  soldiers  sounded  the  bugle 
and  went  in  pursuit,  but  could  not  hit  them.  About  ten  Indians  fought  the  soldiers 
then,  killing  one  of  them.  The  .soldiers  surrounded  Knows-his-coups  and  from  time  to 
time' he  shot  at  them.    They  shot  Two-whistles  through  the  arm  and  killed  an  old 


370        Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

woman.  Wraps-up-his-tail  got  to  the  spot  where  the  old  woman  had  been  killed  and 
laying  down  his  sword  asked  the  Crow  to  kill  him;  but  they  refused.  After  a  while 
Fire-bear  (Crow  policeman)  came  up  and  asked  where  Wraps-up-his-tail  wanted  to 
be  shot.  He  said  he  wanted  to  be  shot  in  the  forehead.  So  Fire-bear  shot  and  killed 
him.  Crazy-bear  and  some  others  were  seized  and  imprisoned.  There  were  only  about 
ten  Crow  who  took  part  in  the  fight;  the  old  men  all  advised  against  it,  saying  there 
was  no  reason  for  fighting.  Had  all  the  Crow  participated,  they  would  have  killed  all 
the  soldiers.    I  have  never  heard  why  Wraps-up-his-tail  wanted  to  fight. 

I  have  heard  that  Wraps-up-his-tail  had  cut  down  pine  trees  with  his  sword.  An 
Indian  said  that  he  similarly  tried  to  cut  down  the  soldiers  and  that  a  noise  was 
heard  overhead  when  he  made  the  motion.  Had  he  made  it  a  little  lower  down,  he 
would  have  cut  the  soldiers  down. 

Wraps-up-his-tail  received  his  name  from  his  guardian,  who  had  dreamt  of  a  dog 
calling  another  by  that  appellation. 

Another  informant  presented  the  occurrence  as  follows: — 

There  was  a  complete  circle  of  enemies  round  the  Crow.  Wraps-up-his-tail  of  the 
Kicked-in-theii  -bellies  clan,  went  out  with  a  pipe,^  brought  back  a  great  many  horses, 
and  paraded  through  camp.  He  went  through  the  Agency,  where  they  were  issuing 
beef.  He  shot  at  the  Agent's  house,  telling  him  he  was  not  afraid  of  him.  The  Agent, 
whose  name  was  Armstrong,  sent  the  (Indian)  police  after  Wraps-up-his-tail,  but  he 
refused  to  go  with  them.  The  police  were  afraid  and  would  not  touch  him.  He 
said  to  them,  "You  are  poor  ones;  I  may  kill  all  of  you."  He  put  on  red  leggings  with 
long  fringes  and  wore  a  red  fringed  shirt.  He  put  a  whistle  crosswise  at  the  back  of  his 
queue,  together  with  a  flying-squirrel  (?) .  His  hair  was  done  up  in  a  short  pompadour 
and  decorated  with  white  paint.  He  painted  his  face  yeUow  and  put  a  white  oval 
round  it.  He  painted  his  horse's  face  with  charcoal;  from  the  shoulderblade  and  hip 
joints  to  the  hoofs  he  painted  him  black.    His  only  weapon  was  a  sword. 

The  whole  Crow  tribe  was  camped  at  the  Agency.  The  Agent  wanted  Wraps-up- 
his-tail  killed  and  sent  for  the  soldiers.  Wraps-up-his-tail  burned  incense  and  placed 
his  sword  over  it.  He  said,  "When  all  the  soldiers  are  lined  up,  I  shall  wave  my  sword 
and  they  will  all  die."  The  Agent  came  with  all  the  soldiers  and  said,  "Since  you  are 
chief  of  all  the  Crow,  make  known  your  request  and  we'll  agree  to  it."  The  Indian 
policeman  asked  Wraps-up-his-tail  to  make  a  request  on  behalf  of  the  Crow,  but  he 
refused.  He  said,  "You  are  Crow  Indians,  I  don't  call  myself  a  chief.  You  have 
treated  your  own  people  as  prisoners.  I  want  to  die,  that  is  why  I  shot  at  the  Agent's 
house."  To  the  whites  he  said,  "I  want  to  destroy  you  all."  They  were  camped  by 
the  fair-grounds.  The  soldiers  were  ready  to  fight.  The  young  Crow  all  supported 
Wraps-up-his-tail,  who  said  he  would  point  his  sword  in  the  four  cardinal  directions 
and  kill  the  whites.  He  and  his  followers  mounted  horses.  The  Indian  police  took 
their  kin  to  the  Agency,  where  they  would  be  safe.  The  soldiers  practised  shooting  at 
effigies.  We  got  tired.  We  heard  they  were  trying  to  shoot  Wraps-up-his-tail 's 
eflfigy. 

In  the  morning  a  herald  told  all  the  Crow  to  mount  thejr  horses  and  get  ready. 
"They  have  your  power,  Wraps-up-his-tail."  "No,  I  don't  like  you  any  more,  I 
want  to  die."  There  were  about  ten  young  men  with  him.  Then  others  got  tired  of 
it  and  left  him.      The  soldiers  extended  from  the  hill  back  of  the  school  to  the  Agency; 

'The  captain's  emblem  of  oflBce. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  371 

they  were  all  armed.  Wraps-up-his-tail  rode  a  few  feet  in  front  of  their  line.  They  all 
shot  at  him.  We  were  standing  farther  back  looking  on  and  thought  he  would  fall 
but  he  was  never  touched.  Spotted-rabbit  was  accompanying  him.  Wraps-up-his- 
tail  waved  his  sword  and  all  the  soldiers  seemed'  to  fall,  but  straightened  up  again. 
One  soldier  said  they  heard  something  whizzing  by  when  the  sword  was  moved  past 
them.  When  the  horses  got  to  the  end  of  the  line,  all  the  soldiers  formed  a  ring  round 
him  and  shot  at  him.  One  man  tried  to  stop  him,  but  he  hit  him  across  the  head  with 
a  sabre,  knocking  him  down.  Then  ten  Crow  Indians  went  right  among  the  soldiers. 
At  last  Wraps-up-his-tail  fled  across  the  river  and  the  soldiers  gave  up  trying  to  kiQ 
him.  He  talked  across  the  stream,  bidding  them  come  and  kill  him,  since  they  had 
shot  him  in  the  arm.  He  advanced  towards  the  soldiers  and  threw  down  his  sword, 
but  they  did  not  go  toward  him.  The  police  ordered  the  Crow  to  go  to  the  Agency. 
Wraps-up-his-tail  said  to  Spotted-rabbit,  "Go  alone  and  hide,  I  want  to  die."  He 
crossed  the  stream  below  the  slaughter-house.  On  the  other  side  Knows-his-coups 
was  lying  in  a  little  hole,  popping  up  and  down;  the  soldiers  shot  at  him,  then  gave  up 
the  pursuit. 

Wraps-up-his-tail  had  surrendered  to  the  soldiers,  who  would  not  seize  him.  The 
Indian  police  arrived.  He  sat  down,  pointing  at  his  breast.  Then  he  said,  "Point 
at  my  forehead."  Then  Fire-bear  shot  and  killed  him.  The  soldiers  killed  an  old 
woman  hiding  in  the  woods.  They  shot  Two-whistles  in  the  arm,  breaking  his  bones, 
and  after  having  the  arm  amputated  they  sent  him  home.  Three-fore  tops  was  also 
in  the  fray.  All  the  Crow  hated  Fire-bear.  Wraps-up-his-taU's  brother  tried  to 
catch  him  alone  and  kill  him,  but  never  succeeded.  Crazy-head  and  Deaf-bull,  both 
Kicked-in-their-bellies  chiefs,  were  blamed  for  the  uprising  by  the  Government  and 
imprisoned  in  the  East. 

Before  this  time  Wraps-up-his-tail  had  never  been  recognized  as  a  medicineman. 
After  his  burial  it  was  reported  that  there  was  a  red  flame  above  his  grave.  The  Crow 
still  consider  him  medicine  because  the  soldiers'  volley  did  not  kill  him;  also  because 
on  his  return  from  the  war  party  he  moved  his  sword  before  some  pine  trees  and  made 
them  fall  down. 

Still  another  informant  said  that  Wraps-up-his-tail  had  gone  to  the 
mountains  three  times  in  quest  of  a  vision,  staying  from  two  to  four  days. 
Gros- Ventre  says  he  has  seen  him  paint  his  face  by  pointing  his  finger 
at  the  sun,  and  though  he  used  no  paint  he  would  produce  a  red  stripe. 
There  was  usually  a  storm  when  he  went  through  camp.  It  was  said 
that  he  chose  the  wrong  season  for  fighting,  hence  his  failure.  He  was 
powerless  in  the  winter  time,  but  would  have  succeeded  in  the  summer. 

One-blue-bead  also  said  that  in  his  opinion  the  outcome  was  Wraps- 
up-his-tail's  own  fault.  His  vision  was  to  come  true  in  the  spring  when  it 
thundered,  but  he  waited  until  the  fall.  Half  of  his  vision  was  true 
{tsUsa  k'ot'uk').  In  part  he  was  fooled.  "He  claimed  that  he  could  not 
be  shot,  that  part  was  false.  Our  hearts  tell  us  that  part  of  what  he  said 
was  true.  He  had  a  sword,  went  up  to  the  mountains,  made  a  motion  of 
cutting  the  pines,  and  the  trees  fell  down.  But  with  the  soldiers  it  did 
not  work.    Muskrat  saw  the  trees  fall." 


372        Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol  .XXV, 

Miscellaneous. 

When  Fire-weasel  was  a  boy  he  accompanied  the  Crow  to  the 
Hidatsa;  there  was  a  shaman  in  the  party.  An  Hidatsa  stole  one  of  the 
shaman's  horses.  The  shaman  made  medicine,  caUing  for  a  good  rain. 
Then  it  rained  every  day  and  night.  The  Hidatsa  gardens  and  their 
earth-lodges  were  soaked,  and  the  horses  sank  down  in  the  mud.  The 
Hidatsa  chiefs  asked  the  thief  to  return  the  horse  lest  they  be  destroyed. 
Accordingly,  the  horse  was  brought  back  at  night  and  tied  to  the  shaman's 
tent,  but  the  horse's  mouth  had  been  tied  with  corduroy  and  was  badly 
cut,  so  the  owner  was  very  angry.  The  chiefs  made  the  thief  give  the 
shaman  another  horse  and  some  property,  then  the  rain  ceased.  That 
winter  the  Hidatsa  were  starving. 

One  informant  told  about  a  man  named  Hunts-the-spring,  who  gen- 
erally traveled  afoot  and  would  sometimes  walk  up  to  the  top  of  big  tipi 
poles,  then  down  again.  The  same  informant  knew  of  a  woman,  said  to 
get  out  of  her  head  (duciuk),  who  could  tell  who  it  was  whenever  any- 
one peeped  in  through  a  little  hole.    She  was  a  good  runner. 


/ 


1 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE. 

A  person  who  administered  roots  and  other  medicines  in  our  sense 
of  the  term  is  known  as  ak'  hdrid,  a  word  extended  to  include  white 
physicians.  As  a  special  class  of  practitioners  the  Crow  segregate  the 
wound-doctors,  akuwdcdiu.  Those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  are  shamans, 
i.e.,  derive  their  powers,  whether  relating  to  medical  treatment  or  not, 
from  a  supernatural  source,  are  in  a  literal  sense  'medicine  (  =  holy) 
men,'  (batse  maxpe) .  But  this  classification  cannot  be  rigidly  maintained 
in  practice  since  many  forms  of  treatment  are  traced  to  a  vision,  and  the 
method  of  heahng  wounds  is  probably  uniformly  so  derived. 

Apart  from  special  medical  assistance  there  are  of  course  certain 
remedies  which  are  extensively  used.  Of  these  the  isk  root, 
which  is  dug  up  in  the  mountains,  is  used  in  a  variety  of  ways,  but 
especially  as  a  liniment.  This  is  the  same  substance  that  serves  so 
largely  as  incense  on  ceremonial  occasions.  It  may  be  applied  with 
various  other  ingredients;  for  example,  a  mixture  of  ise  and  buffalo 
chips  is  rubbed  over  a  swelUng.  Once  I  observed  Muskrat  treating  an 
interpreter's  Httle  daughter  for  a  swelling.  Sitting  at  a  distance  I  could 
see  her  chew  some  root,  very  hkely  ise,  which  she  rubbed  on  the  girl's 
leg.  This  root  is  said  to  be  eaten  by  bears;  the  stem  of  the  plant  closely 
resembles  that  of  a  carrot.  Among  other  things,  ise  is  also  boiled  with 
tallow  for  a  cough  medicine.  In  Pryor  I  bought  some  'sweet-sticks' 
from  Sharp-horn's  wife;  they  are  chewed,  soaked  in  water,  and  drunk 
as  a  remedy  for  diarrhoea.  Henry  Russel,  oddly  enough,  said  this  medicine 
also  contained  a  cathartic  principle  and  was  used  accordingly.  Else- 
where I  heard  of  a  plant  called  dtsirUxe,  which  the  Indians  pull  out  in 
order  to  chew  the  juice,  which  is  good  for  the  teeth  and  the  health 
generally.    Certain  river  weeds  are  boiled  into  a  tea  {cucud) . 

The  sweatlodge  was  not  used  primarily  for  medicinal  purposes  and 
even  in  recent  times  seems  to  have  had  rather  a  rituahstic  function  or  to 
have  assumed  the  character  of  a  sport.  It  is  true  that  in  a  myth  Old- 
Man-Coyote  cures  his  companion  Cirape  through  a  sweatlodge,^  but  the 
circumstances  admit  of  a  different  interpretation.  Cirape's  sickness 
resulted  from  his  having  been  offered  to  the  Sun;  hence  clanger  is  natur- 
ally averted  by  substituting  the  sweatlodge  as  a  Sun  offering  par  ex- 
cellence. 

'Lowie,  this  volume,  20. 


374  Anthropological  Paj)ers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

In  cases  of  stomach  trouble  the  Crow  even  today  employ  an  imple- 
ment called  I'tsipdtsirud,  stomach-kneader.  It  is  a  stick  about  18  inches 
long  widening  out  at  the  bottom  after  the  fashion  of  a  darning-last. 
The  lower  part  is  pushed  against  the  stomach  and  upward.  This  device 
is  mythologically  derived  from  the  Dipper,  who  instructed  a  wbman  in 
its  apphcation,  telling  her  she  should  gain  property  thereby  in  the  waj^  of 
fees.^  However,  its  use  nowadays  is  quite  devoid  of  any  rehgious  im- 
pHcations.  I  saw  Gray-bull  knead  a  young  man's  stomach;  he  explained 
that  the  Crow  were  careful  not  to  press  hard  on  the  navel. 

Muskrat,  as  shown  elsewhere  (p.  340),  derived  some  of  her  methods 
of  treatment  from  her  own  supernatural  experiences,  and  Bull-all-the- 
time  made  a  corresponding  claim  (p.  328) .  Since  visions  differ  and  are  of 
specific  character,  it  follows  that  most  practitioners  are  speciaHsts  con- 
versant only  with  the  mode  of  treatment  to  be  followed  for  particular 
kinds  of  disease.  Thus,  a  man  bitten  b}-  a  snake,  but  surviving  the 
effects,  would  regard  the  snake  as  his  medicine  and  would  treat  people 
who  suffered  from  snake  bites.  Wounded  men,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  treated  by  men  having  a  buffalo  vision.  Again,  Gray-bull's  wife 
was  an  obstetrician,  having  obtained  instructions  from  a  man  who  had 
dreamt  of  a  certain  mode  of  treatment  in  confinement  cases. 

Crow  theory  of  disease  is  not  affected  by  the  belief  in  sorcery  to 
nearly  the  same  extent  as  that  of  many  other  primitive  peoples.  Of 
course  evil  magic  is  practised  (p.  345)  but  it  does  not  pervade  the  entire 
intellectual  atmosphere.  On  the  whole,  far  greater  significance  must  be 
attached  to  the  taboo  concept.  Illness  is  often  ascribed  to  the  trans- 
gression of  a  rule  laid  down  in  a  vision  or  associated  with  some  sacred 
object.  For  example,  a  person  may  be  forbidden  to  eat  chokecherries  or 
a  special  part  of  the  buffalo,  and  disobedience  will  lead  to  dire  conse- 
quences. Others  are  afraid  to  come  into  close  contact  with  menstruating 
women  lest  they  bleed  from  the  nose  or  contract  a  headache ;  if  such  men 
went  into  battle  after  contact  with  a  woman  in  tliis  condition,  they  would 
probably  be  killed.  Tangible  pathogenic  agents  are  also  reckoned  with. 
Sometimes  the  soul  of  a  deceased  individual  puts  a  tooth  or  lock  of  hair 
belonging  to  the  corpse  into  a  person's  body,  producing  insanity.  Persons 
afraid  of  corpses  seen  in  battle  are  said  to  be  liable  to  this  affliction. 
Gray-bull  ascribes  his  temporary  deafness  at  one  time  to  a  stone  put  into 
his  ear  by  the  hand  of  a  slain  enemy  (see  below). 


Hbid.,  126,  128. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  375 

Turning  now  to  the  medical  treatment  given,  it  is  natural  that 
doctors  contending  with  real  or  putative  material  agents  of  destruction 
sought  to  extract  them.  Some  blew  upon  the  affected  part,  others  used 
suction.  A  favorite  method  was  applying  a  pipestem  and  sucking  out  the 
fatal  substance;  this,  e.g.,  was  done  in  extracting  the  hair  or  tooth  of  the 
ghost  causing  madness. 

Gray-bull  called  this  procedure  hakdrluk'.  Once  his  son  White-hip 
was  ill;  he  had  eaten  some  food  and  something  stuck  in  his  throat,  and 
though  he  drank  water  he  could  not  get  rid  of  it.  Bull-all-the-time  was 
summoned  and  ordered  everyone  out  of  the  lodge  except  the  patient  and 
Gray-bull,  whom  he  asked  to  look  at  him.  The  doctor  rubbed  some  sub- 
stance on  White-hip's  breast,  abdomen,  and  neck.  He  sang  some  songs, 
sucked  at  the  patient's  throat  with  his  mouth,  making  a  popping  sound, 
and  produced  a  morsel  of  meat  which  had  lodged  in  White-hip's  throat. 
Bull-all-the-time  himself  referred  to  this  episode,  as  well  as  to  several 
other  cures  he  had  effected.  Thus,  he  once  extracted  a  black  beetle 
from  Flat-dog's  nose  in  the  presence  of  many  onlookers.  On  another 
occasion  a  big  crowd  were  ready  to  mourn  over  a  man  who  had  swallowed 
a  fish  bone  that  stuck  in  his  neck.  They  offered  Bull-all-the-time  a 
gun  and  other  presents,  and  he  drew  forth  the  bone,  curing  the  patient. 
Still  another  time  a  woman  had  a  swollen  leg  and  my  informant  sucked  at 
it  with  his  pipe  and  made  the  swelhng  go  down.  He  also  knew  how  to 
doctor  spider  bites,  but  did  not  treat  snake  bites  or  wounds.  I  saw  the 
pipe  used  by  him,  which  was  that  revealed  in  a  dream;  it  had  horse 
tracks  incised  near  one  end. 

The  mother  of  Bull-does-not-fall-down  fasted  when  one  of  her 
sons  died  and  became  a  doctor  for  both  wounds  and  illness.  Once  Gray- 
bull  was  returning  with  a  war  party  after  an  enemy  had  been  killed. 
The  men  cut  off  the  enemy's  hand  and  tied  it  to  a  long  stick.  As  they 
were  walking  along  at  night,  Gray-bull  came  to  walk  beside  the  staff- 
bearer  and  the  hand  struck  him  on  the  ear.  He  immediately  became 
deaf.  When  he  got  home,  Bull-does-not-fall-down's  mother  treated  him. 
She  took  him  into  a  sweatlodge,  stuck  a  pipestem  into  his  ear,  and  sucked 
a  little  red  stone  out  of  it.  Then  Gray-bull  recovered  his  hearing.  He 
believes  the  hand,  that  is,  the  enemy's  ghost,  put  it  into  his  ear.  The 
stone  was  of  the  kind  usually  found  on  ant-hills. 

Goes-ahead  had  a  pipestem  that  was  painted  red,  and  used  it  to 
draw  some  blood  out  of  a  man  afflicted  with  pneumonia.  He  drew  it  into 
his  own  mouth  and  then  spat  it  out.    The  patient  recovered. 


376         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Other  practitioners  blow  or  rub  chewed  medicinal  substances, 
hawitart,  on  the  patient,  the  rubbing  process  being  designated  by  the 
word  Mptsisuo.  Any  therapeutic  potion  is  csiWed  iwa-\-ici  wa'tse  (by 
means  of  it  they  make  them  drink).  How  largely  such  draughts  were 
administered  by  the  recognized  doctors,  I  do  not  know  for  certain.  They 
were  surely  prescribed  to  some  extent  and  also  employed  as  a  domestic 
remedy  by  the  laity  in  general.  The  'sweet- sticks'  have  already  been 
referred  to;  Bull-all-the-time  showed  me  a  bunch  of  pine  needles,  which 
he  said  were  boiled  into  a  tea  and  drunk  for  medicine. 

Gray-bull  described  certain  modes  of  treatment  for  specific  affec- 
tions. For  erajmo  (hterally,  rotten  stomach)  the  stomach  was  kneaded 
towards  the  heart  and  bleeding  was  resorted  to.  Rheimiatism  {irits-are) 
was  treated  by  snake  or  mole  visionaries,  who  would  burn  incense  and 
rub  on  some  tallow,  or  use  the  pipe  to  suck  out  blood,  which  they  would 
expectorate.  They  left  no  mark  where  the  blood  had  been  extracted. 
Bull-all-the-time  extracts  blood  in  this  manner  to  cure  a  coHc.  For  a 
venereal  affection  cahed  icise  hahi'pak  (literally,  loins  sick)  the  doctor 
placed  hot  rocks  under  the  patient's  genitaha,  made  him  drink  some 
powder  (anmiunition)  put  in  warm  water,  and  threw  some  of  this  mix- 
ture on  him.  Another  disease,  apparently  also  of  venereal  nature,  in- 
volves a  swelHng  of  the  groins  and  is  known  as  arudyusud.  The  doctor 
heats  isk,  places  it  on  the  groins  to  relieve  the  pain,  and  blows  on  them. 
E  this  does  not  prove  effective,  he  will  lance  the  swollen  parts,  for  if 
these  were  to  break  of  themselves  an  inflammation  of  the  face  would 
result.  Gray-bull  lanced  a  swelling  of  this  sort  himseff  when  on  the  war- 
path. Heated  stones  are  continually  used  in  treating  this  disease,  the 
body  is  kneaded,  and  there  is  an  attempt  to  keep  the  bowels  open.  There 
is  another  disease  characterized  by  a  mass  of  sores  and  aching  joints. 
In  this  case  the  best  physicians  are  called,  who  wash  the  sores  and  use  a 
poultice  with  a  special  mixture. 

Of  all  the  wound  doctors  {ak-uwdc-diu)  remembered  by  the  Crow  one 
named  Dap'ic  takes  precedence,  for  he  was  the  only  one  who  could 
make  his  patients  well  forthwith  and  hardly  ever  failed.  Gray-bull  had 
never  seen  him,  but  an  old  woman.  Young-crane,  recollected  him.  Gray- 
bull  said  he  had  heard  that  once  a  man  was  so  weak  that  he  could  neither 
walk  nor  stand,  so  that  Dap'ic  had  to  make  medicine  to  make  him  rise. 
In  going  towards  the  creek,  he  acted  like  a  buffalo  cow  with  a  calf.  The 
patient  followed  him.  At  the  creek  a  fish  came  and  ate  up  the  matter 
about  the  wound.  Dap'ic  took  his  patient  out  and  showed  the  spectators 
the  hole  in  his  body,  then  took  him  back  to  the  river,  dived  with  him  for 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  377 

a  while,  got  out,  and  repeated  this  procedure.     Then  the  patient  was  as 
well  as  before. 

Dap'ic  acquired  his  power  by  fasting  at  the  hot  springs  of  what  is 
now  Thermopohs,  Wyoming.  One  informant  says  he  swam  out  to  a  httle 
island  in  a  pond,  sat  there  for  three  days  and  observed  the  underground 
spirits  treating  wounded  men.  Others  narrated  that  some  being  took 
him  into  the  spring,  sang  medicine  songs  for  him,  and  gave  him  his  own 
name,  the  one  by  which  he  has  been  known  since,  and  the  springs  are 
called  Dap'tc  irupxe  (father  of  Dap'ic).  After  his  return  to  camp,  Dap'ic 
went  on  the  warpath  and  was  shot.  He  told  his  comrade  that  he  was  a 
medicineman.  His  friend  answered,  ''You  are  a  medicineman  and  you 
have  forgotten  that  you  are  half  dead."  "I  am  going  to  doctor  myself." 
"If  the  people  see  you  cure  yourself,  they  will  wait  to  have  you  cure  them 
and  will  give  you  plenty  of  property."  Many  people  looked  on  as  he 
treated  himself.  The  bullet  had  not  gone  through  him,  but  was  in  his 
body.  He  held  an  otter  in  his  hands,  showing  its  teeth.  He  was  going 
to  dive  into  the  river  and  have  the  otter  remove  the  bullet.  He  sang 
before  entering  the  water,  then  dived  into  it.  After  four  breaths  he  came 
out  again  and  the  otter  had  the  bullet  in  its  mouth.  Then  all  the  people 
knew  about  it.  There  was  another  battle  and  a  man  was  shot  with 
an  arrow;  the  shaft  was  pulled  out,  but  the  head  remained  sticking  in  the 
wound.  People  asked  the  doctor  to  cure  him.  He  told  his  patient' he 
would  dive  with  hmi  and  have  the  arrow  point  extracted  by  the  otter. 
He  sang  and  painted  himself,  as  well  as  the  patient,  then  dived  with  him, 
and  when  he  came  out  the  otter  had  the  arrow-head  in  its  mouth.  The 
man  was  cured.  On  another  occasion  an  old  man  was  shot  in  the  fore- 
head and  the  doctor  took  out  the  bullet.  Once  in  the  Wolf  Mountains  a 
Crow  was  shot  below  the  navel  in  a  fight  with  the  Dakota.  There  was  a 
watercourse  nearbj''  and  after  damming  it  up  to  make  it  deep  enough  they 
laid  the  patient  in  there.  Dap'ic  used  the  water-bull  (bivmin  tsirupe) 
and  the  long-otter  for  his  special  guardian  spirits.  He  sang  over  the 
patient,  hopped  over  him,  and  rode  to  camp  with  him,  singing  on  the 
way.  In  the  morning  the  people  formed  two  lines  of  spectators.  They 
made  the  patient  rest  on  a  high  pillow  and  several  men  sang  for  him. 
No  person  or  dog  was  permitted  to  pass  in  front  of  him.  The  doctor  had 
his  wife  and  daughter  wear  a  robe  and  with  them  he  approached  the  door 
of  the  lodge,  where  the  singing  was  going  on  continually.  Dap'ic  trans- 
formed himself  into  a  bull  and  made  a  snorting  noise  over  the  patient, 
who  rolled  over.  Then  he  bade  the  wounded  man  seize  his  tail  and  forth- 
with he  was  able  to  stand  up  as  though  well.    Dap'ic  led  him  to  the  water. 


378         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museuvi  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

re-assuining  human  shape  on  the  way.  He  took  him  where  the  water 
reached  up  to  his  chest  and  then  dived  down  alone.  Before  so  doing,  he 
whistled  upstream,  then  downstream.  The  patient's  blood  flowed  down- 
stream, and  he  stood  there  for  a  long  time  awaiting  the  leech's  return. 
His  wound  healed.  Only  the  wounded  man  saw  the  doctor  in  buffalo 
shape.  Later  in  life  Dap'ic  became  bhnd  because  he  had  transgressed 
one  of  his  spiritual  patron's  rules. 

According  to  one  informant  the  legendary  shaman  who  recovered  a 
drowned  Crow's  necklace'  became  a  wound-doctor  when  he  had  returned 
from  his  diving  expedition. 

Gray-bull  remembered  two  famous  wound-doctors;  one  was  Bull- 
does-not-fall-down's  mother,  who  also  treated  other  afflictions  (see  p. 
375),  the  other  was  named  One-eye.  Neither  permitted  dogs  about  while 
administering  his  treatment ;  it  was  said  that  if  a  dog  crossed  their  path 
at  that  time  the  patient  would  die.  My  informant  saw  One-eye  at 
work  on  three  occasions.  Wlien  he  treated  Crazy-head,  who  had  been 
shot  from  side  to  side,  he  painted  white  rings  round  the  patient's  eyes 
and  touched  all  his  body  with  the  tip  of  his  hand,  which  had  white  clay 
on  it.  He  painted  his  own  forehead  with  white  clay,  wore  a  buffalo  robe, 
and  tied  a  plume  to  the  back  of  the  patient's  head.  He  stood  at  the  door 
of  the  lodge,  singing  his  song.  The  singers,  including  Gray-bull,  were 
indoors.  The  relatives  of  a  wounded  man  always  got  as  many  young  men 
as  possible  to  act  as  singers  during  the  performance,  and  they  would 
sing  the  physician's  song.  One-eye  danced  at  the  door,  first  with  one 
foot,  and  rubbed  a  buffalo  tail,  which  had  a  plume  tied  to  it,  against 
the  ground  so  that  the  dust  flew.  Everyone  cheered  him.  He  went  to 
the  patient,  blew  on  his  abdominal  wound,  stood  back,  extended  his 
arms  and  bent  his  body.  Crazy-head  imitated  these  movements.  Pus 
and  blood  came  pouring  out  of  his  wound.  When  all  had  come  out,  the 
people  in  camp  were  told  to  stand  in  two  rows  extending  from  the  lodge 
to  the  river.  Gray-bull  did  not  see  the  procedure  in  the  river  since  he  was 
one  of  the  singers  and  thus  obliged  to  remain  in  the  lodge  and  continue 
singing.  Young-crane,  Crazy-head's  one-time  wife,  said  that  according 
to  her  husband  he  was  not  cured  by  the  doctor.  Some  time  after  that, 
however,  he  went  out  to  ease  himself  and  in  the  morning  there  were 
masses  of  blood  there;    from  that  time  on  his  health  improved. 

Another  informant  mentions  seeing  four  or  five  women  take  part  in 
the  singing  in  company  with  the  male  drummers.    He  says  the  doctor 

'This  volume,  231. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  379 

pawed  the  ground  like  a  bull  and  licked  the  patient's  wounds,  drawing 
out  blood  and  pus  from  both  sides.  He  made  the  sick  man  walk  toward 
the  creek  in  the  usual  fashion,  making  four  stops  and  each  time  causing 
water  and  blood  to  run  out.  He  waded  into  the  river  to  the  depth  of  the 
patient's  wound  and  made  the  blood  and  water  flow  out  of  it.  Then  the 
man  got  well. 

Arm-round-the-neck  added  only  a  few  details  on  the  basis  of  one 
performance  he  had  witnessed.  In  this  case  the  physician  blew  into  the 
wound  and  ran  back  to  the  lodge,  followed  by  the  wounded  man.  This 
informant  said  that  some  doctors  had  seen  buffalo  treating  one  another's 
wounds  in  a  vision  and  imitated  what  they  had  been  shown.  Others 
might  see  other  animals  (otters?)  and  would  then  use  an  otterskin  and 
whistle  instead  of  the  buffalo  tail.  The  wound  doctors  might  purchase 
their  medicines. 

The  association  of  wound  doctoring  with  the  buffalo  is  of  compara- 
tive interest  since  it  occurs  elsewhere,  e.g.,  among  the  Omaha,  where  a 
whole  fraternity  of  Ixiffalo  \asionaries  treat  cases  of  this  type.^ 

The  treatment  of  a  woman  in  labor  has  already  been  sketched  else- 
where.2  Sometimes  no  physician  was  called  because  there  was  no  time. 
In  ancient  times,  according  to  Gray-bull,  only  women  were  obstetricians 
(bid-ende  ak-did)  but  now  there  are  also  some  men  who  act  in  this  capac- 
ity. A  man  was  certainly  not  normally  permitted  to  attend  during  his 
wife's  travail,  and  it  seems  no  other  males,  not  even  boys,  were  allowed 
in  the  lodge  since  their  presence  was  believed  to  protract  the  period  of 
delivery.    Otherwise  the  husband  was  not  subject  to  any  taboo. 

Gray-bull's  wife  had  obtained  her  obstetrical  knowledge  from  a 
visionary,  to  whom  she  paid  a  horse.  She  regarded  the  information  as  a 
secret.  The  medicine  was  a  combination  of  a  horned  toad  and  a  root; 
she  would  rub  it  down  the  patient's  back.  The  woman  in  labor  clung  to  a 
post  planted  by  her  bed  and  assumed  a  kneeling  posture.  Not  the  doctor, 
but  anyone  present,  cut  the  navel  cord  {icW-pe).  After  the  delivery  the 
mother  received  a  portion  of  iax'cm'e,  a  kind  of  fatty  food  (probably  pem- 
mican)  which  she  ate  just  once.  For  several  days  she  abstained  from 
cooked  meat  and  was  not  allowed  to  stoop. 

There  were  no  special  beliefs  as  to  twins  (ddtsg'e)  and  Gray-bull 
did  not  know  of  any  case  of  triplets. 


■AUce  C.  Fletcher  and  Francis  La  Flesche,    "The  Omaha  Tribe"  (Trcentxj-sexenih  Annual  Report, 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Washington,  1911),  487. 
-This  series,  vol.  9,  218. 


SOULS;    GHOSTS;    HEREAFTER. 

The  metaphysical  tendency  is  very  moderately  developed  among  the 
Crow.  There  are  no  profound  theories  as  to  the  soul  and  such  reflec- 
tions as  may  occasionally  be  garnered  on  this  and  related  topics  are  not 
infrequently  mutually  contracUctory. 

The  word  for  soul  is  ira^xe  (my  soul,  hard"xe;  souls,  iraaxud).  It 
is  used  in  speaking  of  a  person's  will  power  and  is  clearly  connected  with 
the  word  for  'shadow,'  irdxaxe.  Gray-bull  said  that  all  animals  {hdxuam- 
bice)  have  souls,  that  is  why  the  Crow  do  not  kill  dogs.  The  sacred  stones 
taken  along  on  war  expeditions  also  had  souls.  Another  informant, 
however,  denied  that  animals  were  behoved  to  have  souls.  Sometimes 
the  soul  of  a  dead  person  will  put  a  tooth  or  a  lock  of  hair  of  its  own  into 
a  person's  body  and  cause  him  to  go  insane.  The  soul  is  beheved  to  stay 
by  the  burial  and  sometimes  an  owl-hke  cry  is  heard  there.  In  this  last 
statement  there  is  probably  a  confusion  between  'soul'  and  'ghost,'  for 
below  we  shall  find  that  the  deceased  live  in  camps  of  their  own,  while 
hooting  hke  an  owl  is  generally  described  as  an  attribute  of  ghosts. 

The  word  for  ghost  is  a*pardaxe,  which  is  also  sometimes  used  to 

render  'devil.'    It  seems  to  be  etymologically  connected  with  that  for 

soul,  but  I  am  unable  to  explain  the  first  part  of  the  word.    Another 

word  recorded  for  'ghost'  is  maxutrete  which  denotes  lack   of   body. 

Ghosts  are  feared  and  to  compare  a  person  to  a  ghost  is  to  offer  a  grave 

insult.    In  a  myth  a  woman  at  once  leaves  her  husband  when  he  hkens 

her  to  a  ghost.^    The  whirlwind  is  taken  for  a  ghost  and  an  approaching 

one  will  be  thus  addressed: — 

an-dare  k'awik',     di-t"at"  da! 

Where  you  are  going      it  is  bad,        you  alone         go  (imperative) ! 

Ghosts  are  not  regarded  as  uniformly  malevolent,  however.  I  heard 
of  a  woman  named  Gun,  who  had  had  a  vision  of  a  ghost.  She  would 
invite  a  crowd  of  people,  darken  her  room,  and  make  everyone  sing  and 
hsten.  Then  something  came  and  the  people  could  not  make  out  what 
the  being  had  said.  Gun  would  interpret  its  words  and  prophesy  what 
was  going  to  happen.  The  gift  of  detecting  lost  property  and  of  determin- 
ing the  fate  of  lost  individuals  seems  to  be  preeminently  derived  from 
ghosts.  In  the  most  recent  times  an  old  couple  had  lost  money  and  asked 
an  Indian  policeman  for  assistance.  The  latter,  being  a  great  wag, 
pretended  to  recover  the  money  by  means  of  his  medicine, — a  whirl- 
wind ghost.  He  smoked  incense,  made  the  sign  of  a  whirlwind  in  front  of 
his  face,  and  after  chanting  a  song  hooted  Hke  a  ghost. 

'This  volume,  118. 

380 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Croic.  381 

Once  the  Crow  were  on  the  Musselshell,  while  the  Dakota  were  near 
Sheridan.  A  Crow  party  went  out  and  captured  some  Dakota  horses. 
Two  of  the  braves  did  not  come  back;  even  after  ten  days  they  had  not 
retm-ned.  Their  brother  went  to  an  old  man  who  had  ghost  medicine, 
gave  him  horses  and  property,  and  asked  him  to  find  out  where  the  two 
men  were  and  whether  dead  or  aUve.  That  night  the  old  man  told  every- 
one in  his  lodge  to  go  outside.  All  the  relatives  of  the  two  missing  men 
came  and  stayed  outside  the  tipi.  The  old  man  put  out  his  fire  and  began 
to  sing,  shaking  his  rattle.  He  made  a  noise  Hke  an  owl,  went  out  of  the 
smoke  hole,  and  returned  to  the  tent.  The  whole  lodge  shook  when  he 
came  back.  The  spectators  heard  people  talking  but  could  not  under- 
stand them.  Then  the  medicineman  called  the  outsiders  and  lit  up  his 
fire.  He  told  them  the  two  young  men  had  not  been  killed,  but  were  in 
camp  at  that  very  moment  and  bade' them  look  for  them.  That  very 
night  one  of  the  two  missing  men  came  back  to  his  tipi.  The  old  man 
had  seen  the  two  in  camp  and  told  the  other  people.  They  were  there 
looking  on  while  their  tribesmen  were  looking  for  them. 

A  sister  of  Horn's  wife  once  went  to  St.  Xa\der  for  a  visit.  On  the 
same  day  Gray-bull  and  others  went  there  too.  The  following  day  they 
got  to  the  Bighorn,  where  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  was  being  held. 
The  Lodge  Grass  people  stayed  for  the  festivities,  but  the  woman  did  not 
appear.  They  looked  for  her  all  over  the  district,  but  failed  to  find  her. 
Her  horse  returned  to  Gray-bull's  herd  without  a  saddle.  Then  a  ghost 
medicine  woman,  Stops's  mother,  was  called.  They  gave  her  two  horses 
and  other  j^ropert}-  and  asked  her  to  find  the  lost  woman.  That  night  she 
did  not  tell  the  people  to  leave,  but  put  out  the  fire  and  closed  up  the 
smoke  hole.  She  began  to  sing  and  hooted  like  an  owl  and  the  whole 
tent  began  to  shake  as  though  fiom  a  whirlwind.  The  audience  heard 
talking  but  could  not  understand  what  was  being  said.  They  also  heard 
the  medicine  woman,  but  could  not  understand  her  either.  When  a  child 
who  was  with  Gray-bull  began  to  cry,  all  the  noise  ceased.  The  medicine 
woman  kindled  the  fire  and  told  the  people  that  if  the  child  had  not  cried 
she  should  have  learned  about  the  woman's  whereabouts;  she  had  been 
told  that  she  was  close  but  the  exact  place  was  not  revealed.  More  pres- 
ents were  offered  to  the  shaman  to  make  her  try  once  more,  but  she  re- 
fused and  the  woman  was  never  found:  The  Indians  thought  she  might 
have  been  killed  by  some  white  man  or  turned  insane,  for  she  had  gone 
crazj^  several  times  before. 

The  following  curious  tale  was  recounted  by  Gray-bull  as  a  personal 
adventure. 


382         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum,  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

I  went  on  the  waipath  toward  the  Missouri  River.  Right  above  the  mouth  of 
Plum  River  I  came  to  a  square-tent  camp  of  about  a  thousand  tents.  There  was  a 
little  house  there,  and  a  tall  white  man,  who  talked  Crow,  took  us  all  to  this  house, 
and  told  us  to  look  inside.  In  this  house  there  were  bunks  covered  with  gray  blankets. 
The  white  man  told  us  to  take  off  the  covers  and  then  we  saw  under  all  of  them  the 
skeletons  of  men,  about  thirty  of  them.  The  joints  were  fastened  together  with  wire. 
When  we  got  out,  we  stopped  there  for  the  night.  The  Indians  began  to  sing.  The 
white  man  told  us  to  keep  quiet  for  they  were  going  to  make  the  skeletons  alive  again 
and  if  we  wanted  to  see  it  we  might.  We  told  him  we  had  never  known  of  any  one 
dead  coming  to  life.  He  said  they  were  going  to  raise  the  skeletons  to  live  in  four 
nights.  That  night  we  heard  a  band-drum  and  cheers  from  the  whites  all  night.  We 
stayed  there  for  two  nights,  consumed  our  food,  and  told  the  white  man  we  were  going 
to  leave.  He  told  us  to  stay  and  killed  a  beef  for  us.  For  four  nights  we  always  heard 
the  band.  After  the  fourth  night  the  white  man  came  and  told  us  the  skeletons  had 
risen  to  life.  He  took  all  of  us  to  the  house,  opened  the  door  and  told  our  captain  to 
look,  but  he  was  afraid.  One  man  was  very  brave  and  .said,  "I'll  go  and  see,"  for  he 
doubted  it.  His  comrade  said  he  would  go  in  also  and  a  third  likewise  said  he  would 
do  so.  Wolf-head  was  the  first  man  who  wanted  to  go  in.  Wolf-head  asked  me  what  I 
was  going  to  do  and  I  said  I  would  do  it.  Wolf-head  told  the  captain  to  keep  quiet.  When 
all  four  of  us  were  inside,  the  white  man  closed  the  door.  It  was  early  in  the  morning. 
The  white  man  took  the  cover  off  one,  and  then  we  saw  a  white  man  lying  there  very 
thin.  He  looked  at  all  four  of  us.  Wolf-head  shook  hands  with  him  and  said:  "Ho!" 
The  other  just  shook  his  hand  and  while  he  was  holding  his  hand  Wolf-head  asked, 
"Are  there  people  yet  over  there  in  the  ghost  land?"  The  white  man  answered, 
"Ho!"  The  Indian  said:  "Whenever  I  become  a  chief  and  people  honor  me,  I'll  see 
your  people."  The  next  Crow  shook  hands  and  .said,  "When  I've  given  horses  to 
all  my  relatives  and.  captured  picketed  horses,  I'll  see  your  people."  The  third  one 
shook  hands  and  said:  "Are  there  people  on  the  other  side?"  "Ho!"  "I  want  to  see 
your  people  soon."  I  shook  hands  with  him  myself  and  told  him  I  did  not  want  to 
be  afraid,  but  wanted  to  be  an  old  man  and  a  big  chief.  The  white  man  said,  "Ho!" 
We  shook  hands  with  the  other  whites  in  the  bunks  and  repeated  our  conversation, 
then  we  went  outside.    The  rest  of  our  party  asked,  "How  is  it?"    "They  are  living." 

Then  the  white  man  who  spoke  Crow  told  our  captain  if  he  doubted  he  should 
stay  till  the  next  day  and  see  the  people  come  out  of  the  house.  We  stayed  till  the 
next  morning,  when  we  dressed  and  painted  up  and  came  to  the  place.  We  saw  all  the 
white  men  seated  outside  on  a  bench.  One  white  man  had  a  hole  in  his  cheek  where 
he  had  been  shot  and  matter  was  running  out  of  it.  This  man  asked  us  whether  any 
of  us  could  speak  Dakota.  Our  captain  said  he  could  talk  Assiniboin.  The  white 
man  with  the  hole  said  he  was  also  an  Assiniboin.  He  said  he  was  going  to  talk  and 
wished  the  Indian  to  listen.  He  talked  in  Assiniboin  and  a.sked  the  captain  where  he 
was  going.  The  captain  answered  that  he  was  on  the  warpath.  The  white  man  said, 
"When  you  get  to  camp,  don't  be  afraid;  go  to  the  camp,  take  a  picketed  horse  and 
kill  some  of  the  enemy;  don't  be  afraid,  for  you  are  to  be  people  twice.  Don't  be 
afraid  of  anything.  The  Crow  who  died  are  living  in  a  camp.  I  myself  can't  help 
myself  and  have  to  stay  with  the  whites."  The  other  Indians  told  the  captain  to  ask 
what  was  the  matter  with  the  man's  face.  He  asked  him.  "The  Piegan  killed  an 
Assiniboin  on  top  of  a  hill,  where  there  were  rocks  and  trenches.  While  the  Piegan 
were  in  the  trenches,  1  went  up  and  struck  at  them,  shouting  that  I  was  the  first  to 


1922.]  Louie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  383 

strike  a  coup.  The  women  and  men  said  I  did  not  strike  a  coup,  but  only  rocks.  I 
tried  again,  sang  a  song  and  made  medicine.  I  went  to  the  trench.  One  man  was 
pointing  a  gun  at  me.  As  I  was  going  to  stab  him,  he  shot  me  in  the  face.  From  that 
day  I  knew  nothing  until  the  day  I  saw  you  Crow."  The  Indian  asked  the  white 
whether  he  was  going  to  die  again,  but  he  answered  he  did  not  know. 

We  got  back  to  the  Crow  camp.  The  one  who  said  he  wanted  to  see  the  other  side 
soon  died  about  two  seasons  later.  What  he  wanted  came  true :  he  died  soon  after. 
Wolf-head,  who  had  said  he  was  going  to  see  the  other  people  when  the  Crow  all  liked 
him,  was  killed  some  years  later.  What  he  had  said  came  true.  The  Crow  honored 
him  very  much.  The  third  man  who  said  he  would  give  horses  to  all  his  relatives  did 
what  he  said;  he  was  killed  on  the  Bighorn.  What  I  said  is  coming  true :  I  am  a  chief 
and  pretty  old.  I  believe  those  men  were  ghosts.  At  first  I  did  not  believe  in  it  but 
after  seeing  that  it  came  true  for  the  others  I  believed  in  it.  Since  then  I  have 
never  seen  any  ghosts. 

This  last  narrative,  whatever  experiences  it  may  be  based  on,  con- 
nects behefs  as  to  ghosts  with  the  conceptions  entertained  of  the  here- 
after. This  subject  seems  to  have  exercised  the  Crow  imagination  to  a 
very  hmited  extent.  So  far  as  there  is  any  standard  belief  it  is  to  the 
effect  that  the  dead  live  in  camps  like  those  of  the  Crow  and  have  a 
superior  way  of  hving.  This  might  be  used  as  an  encouragement  to  the 
warriors,  as  in  Gray-bull's  mysterious  story.  Sometimes  before  a  battle 
the  heralds  would  cry  out:  kuke  asuk'\  "Over  there  there  are  (also) 
lodges!"  A  number  of  informants  declared  they  knew  nothing  about 
life  after  death  and  none  seemed  to  exhibit  any  particular  interest  in  the 
matter.  Those  who  had  any  conceptions  based  them  on  the  reports  of 
tribesmen  who  are  believed  to  have  died  and  returned  to  consciousness. 
These  accounts,  such  as  they  are,  follow. 

The  dead  go  to  an  Indian  camp.  Once  a  Crow  died.  He  got  to  two  rivers  and 
beyond  there  was  a  large  camp  of  buffalo  skin  tipis.  He  was  invited  into  one  lodge. 
Indoors  everything  was  furnished  after  the  old  style,  with  buffalo  robes  on  the  ground 
to  sit  on.  The  owner  looked  at  the  visitor  and  said,  "I  see  something  about  you  I 
don't  like.  I  don't  like  otters.  Your  people  are  down  below."  The  visitor  said, 
"Then  I'll  go  back  home."  He  came  to  and  told  what  had  happened  to  him.  He 
was  eager  to  go  back  to  the  dead  again  and  died  once  more  soon  after. 

There  was  a  Crow  who  was  shot  and  was  brought  back  to  camp.  He  died  of  his 
wound.  The  next  morning  he  got  up  again,  went  round,  and  told  the  people  that  all 
the  dead  were  camped  together  and  had  a  better  way  of  living  than  the  Crow;  hence 
he  said,  "Don't  be  afraid  to  die."  When  I  was  seriously  sick,  I  was  eager  to  see  my 
parents,  who  were  already  dead.  I  remembered  what  the  old  man  had  told  me.  If  it 
was  so,  I  thought,  I  might  be  happy  with  my  relatives  since  all  the  dead  camped 
together. 

Two  men  went  west  to  the  coast,  where  there  were  no  more  white  men.  The 
Crow  believe  the  dead  are  living  over  there.  The  two  travelers  met  a  man  without 
moccasins  who  knew  their  names  without  their  telling  him,  and  he  sent  them  back. 
They  set  out  in  the  summer  and  came  back  in  the  fall. 


384         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

There  was  a  man  who  died  and  came  to  life  again.  He  said  that  all  who  had  died 
were  still  living  and  that  they  were  better  people  than  the  Crow.  The  Crow  believed 
it. 

One  of  my  (Old-dog's)  own  brothers  got  sick  and  weak  and  ready  to  die.  He  took 
a  knife  and  tried  to  stab  himself  but  was  too  feeble.  Then  he  lay  on  the  ground  with 
his  body  on  the  knife  and  thus  killed  himself.  He  lay  there  for  a  while,  then  woke  up 
and  told  his  story.  His  younger  brother,  who  had  owned  a  fine  gray  horse,  had  died 
before  him.  This  younger  brother  took  him  on  his  horse  riding  towards  the  camp  of 
the  dead.  'T  could  hear  the  singing  of  praise  songs  over  there;  also  loud  talking. 
They  were  singing,  Ts  that  person  coming  already?'  As  we  proceeded,  he  said,  'My 
horse  is  fast,  but  we  have  brought  him.'  Then  my  brother  angrily  struck  me  in  the 
chest,  saying,  'You  are  stingy  and  think  too  much  of  your  horse.  If  so,  go  back.' 
He  jumped  off  and  I  came  back  to  life."  This  man  told  us  he  had  found  that  the  dead 
had  a  camp  like  ours  and  a  good  way  of  living.  After  this  experience  he  did  not  die 
again  until  relatively  recently  (since  the  Crow  have  been  on  their  present  reservation). 


SPECIAL  MEDICINE  OBJECTS. 

Since  most  objects  derive  their  sacred  character  from  a  vision,  the 
number  of  medicines  is  theoretically  unhmited.  However,  they  can 
usually  be  classified  in  certain  categories.  The  relativie  paucity  of  medi- 
cine bundles  is  remarkable  considering  their  prominent  place  among  the 
Hidatsa  and  the  Blackfoot.  Similarly  the  notion  of  painted  tipis  plays  a 
very  subordinate  part.  Altogether  it  seems  fair  to  say  that  while  prob- 
ably no  important  class  of  sacred  objects  characteristic  of  the  Plains  is 
wholly  unrepresented,  the  Crow  differ  in  a  decided  shifting  of  emphasis. 

Medicine  Rocks. 

The  medicine  rocks  (bacoritsi'tse)  occupy  an  important  position  in 
Crow  religious  thought.  In  some  respects  they  correspond  to  the  Black- 
foot  iniskim,  but  the  notion  that  their  prototype  is  the  oldest  part  of  the 
earth  and  a  being  independent  of  all  others,  the  Sun  (Old-Man-Coyote) 
included,^  rather  suggests  Dakota  metaphysics. 

A  bacoritsi'tse  is  primarih^  characterized  by  its  appearance,  which 
suggests  that  of  some  part  of  an  animal's  body,  perhaps  most  frequently 
of  the  head  (Figs.  1,  2).  These  stones  were  not  as  a  rule  bestowed  in 
visions,  but  were  found  accidentally  by  anyone  and  then  adopted  as  the 
finder's  medicine.  They  were  wrapped  up  with  numerous  offerings, 
such  as  beads  or  decorative  strips  of  skin,  greased  with  castoreum,  and 
supplicated  for  long  life  and  wealth.  More  particularly  were  they  taken 
to  a  performance  of  the  Singing  the  Cooked  Meat  festival,  at  which  each 
guest  owning  such  a  rock  pressed  it  to  his  breast,  kissed  it,  and  addressed 
prayers  to  it.  According  to  In-the-mouth,  the  bacoritsi'tse  are  found  by 
the  odor  they  emit,  which  also  indicates  what  kind  of  incense  they  de- 
mand, e.g.,  whether  ise  or  sweetgrass.  All  Indians  agree  that  bacoritsi'- 
tse have  a  tendency  to  multiply  Uke  hving  beings.  According  to  one 
informant  it  was  customary  to  unwrap  them  when  the  first  thunder  was 
heard  in  the  spring. 

In  1910  I  purchased  several  of  these  medicine  rocks,  generally  from 
young  Indians  who  had  inherited  them  and  no  longer  used  them.  I 
recollect  paying  as  much  as  ten  dollars  for  one;  another  was  offered  to 
me  at  the  price  of  thirty  dollars. 

Gray-bull  owned  several  bacoritsi'tse.  He  showed  me  one  resembUng 
a  mule  hoof.  Soon  after  finding  it,  he  had  obtained  three  mules  and  had 
come  to  own  a  hundred  and  twenty  head  of  horses.    This  stone  he  never 

•This  volume,  15. 

385 


Fig.  1   (50.1-4008a).     Medicine  Rock  with  Offerings. 


386 


Fig.  2  (50.1-4010).     Medicine  Rock  with  Offerings. 


387 


388  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV ^ 

took  to  a  Singing  the  Cooked  Meat  feast,  though  a  subsequent  state- 
ment indicates  that  he  used  it  with  his  others  when  he  himseK  arranged 
this  ceremonj'-.  One  of  the  other  stones  resembled  a  buffalo  head,  still 
another  had  horns  and  the  semblance  of  eyes  but  Gray-bull  did  not  know 
what  it  was.  His  principal  hacoritsi'tse  he  kept  enclosed  in  several  cloth 
wrappers,  the  whole  being  stored  in  a  rawhide  container  of  envelope 
shape.  The  body  of  the  stone  was  completely  covered  with  buckskin, 
which  was  decorated  with  rows  of  beads.  The  rock  itself  was  said  to 
have  natural  horsetrack  markings  on  one  side  and  to  suggest  a  human 
head  on  the  other;  a  deer  was  also  marked  on  it.  With  the  rock  there 
were  the  usual  trimmings  of  weasel-skin,  elk  teeth,  and  the  like;  also 
some  sweetgrass.  The  stone  always  faced  upward  (ise  ivdkus-a-\-  uk).  In 
the  same  wrapping,  but  considered  a  distinct  medicine,  there  was  a  very 
small  bundle  containing  a  Httle  stone  on  which  might  be  seen  or  imagined 
a  face.  This  had  been  found  by  a  little  child  and  according  to  my 
authority  had  since  then  grown  to  twice  its  original  size.  Gray-bull 
would  pray  to  it  as  follows:  "May  I  have  horses  and  property,  live  till 
the  next  year,  and  fare  well  {itsik'  ata  hakd  'kuwi)\"  While  wearing  it  sus- 
pended from  his  neck,  he  had  captured  a  rifle,  two  horses,  and  an  eagle 
feasting  on  a  buffalo,  besides  experiencing  other  forms  of  good  luck. 

Normally  hacoritsi'tse  were  not  sold  but  inherited.  Gray-bull 
inherited  his  principal  stone  from  his  stepfather. 

In-the-mouth  told  of  a  remarkable  hacoritsi'tse  shaped  on  one  side 
like  a  buffalo  with  a  bird  on  top,  on  the  other  like  a  horse  mounted  by  a 
httle  being  in  human  form.  In  going  on  an  expedition  the  owner  would 
ask  the  buffalo  for  success,  e.g.,  for  a  horse.  This  stone  gave  birth  to 
two  stones  ("had  two  children"),  which  multiplied  in  turn.  The  'children' 
were  given  to  some  men  as  captain's  medicines.  Some  people  offered 
as  much  as  ten  horses  for  the  medicine,  but  the  owner  would  not  sell  it. 
The  owners  would  open  up  the  bundle  and  show  the  contents  to  close 
relatives,  but  would  not  permit  any  handhng.  Sweetgrass  was  used  for 
incense  with  this  stone.  It  was  discovered  by  the  wife  of  Sees-the-bull's- 
member,  a  reckless  young  man  who  had  squandered  all  his  property  at 
gambhng  and  deserted  his  wife.  She  went  out  crying  and  scented  sweet- 
grass, whereupon  she  saw  the  hacoritsi'tse  shining  and  picked  it  up.  That 
night  her  husband  returned  and  through  the  stone  he  secured  a  captain's 
vision.  By  means  of  it  he  was  able  to  cause  buffalo  to  come  when  they 
were  scarce. 

Two  points  are  noteworthy  in  connection  with  the  last-named  stone. 
The  circumstances  of  its  discovery,  for  one  thing,  ahgn  it  with  medicines 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  389 

secured  in  visions.    Secondly,  its  use  for  charming  buffalo  constitutes  a 
specific  point  of  resemblance  with  the  Blackfoot  iniskim. 

Gray-bull  told  me  that  Medicine-crow  owned  one  bacoritsi'tse 
that  he  esteemed  above  the  rest.  It  had  been  found  by  Medicine-Crow's 
mother  and  had  reproduced  itself  since  then.  When  people  unwrapped 
it,  they  saw  horsetracks,  would  go  on  a  raid  and  bring  back  horses; 
also  an  enemy  was  killed.  It  is  marked  with  a  man's  head  and  indications 
of  a  bird,  horses,  and  buffalo.  Medicine-crow  did  not  use  this  stone  at  the 
Singing  the  Cooked  Meat  ceremony,  for  he  is  under  a  taboo  against 
eating  tongues  and  at  the  feast  other  people  who  cUd  eat  tongues  might 
touch  the  rock  with  their  faces.  Medicine-crow's  parents  had  owned  the 
stone  and  abstained  from  tongue,  so  he  does  likewise. 

Another  informant  gave  more  details  concerning  this  stone.  It 
had  been  seen  in  a  vision  by  Looks-at-a-bull's  penis  (tslrup-ir-ik' ac) 
and  later  found  by  his  wife.  Medicine-crow's  mother,  whom  he  married  in 
accordance  with  the  levirate.  The  woman  always  kept  it  under  her 
dress.  Her  husband  wanted  to  see  it.  One  day  she  said,  "We'll  go  out 
and  I'll  show  it  to  you."  They  went  to  a  coulee,  and  there  she  took  it 
out  and  showed  him  the  medicine.  One  stone  looked  like  a  bird,  another 
hke  a  buffalo,  the  third  like  a  horse,  the  fourth  like  a  person  resembling 
Two-leggings.  There  was  some  hair  hanging  down  from  a  willow  and  the 
man  tried  to  take  it,  but  his  wife  asked  him  not  to  do  so.  Then  they 
went  home  and  on  the  way  they  found  a  bunch  of  hair  and  a  piece  of  fat; 
with  the  latter  they  greased  the  bacDritsi'tse  and  wrapped  it  up  in  the 
hair.  They  got  to  a  hill.  The  woman  bade  her  husband  remain  there  in 
order  to  get  another  vision  of  the  stone  and  went  home  alone.  In 
the  night  the  man  dreamt  about  all  sorts  of  things  the  stone  told  him  to 
do;  they  showed  hun  how  to  lead  a  war  party  and  how  to  make  medicine. 

Medicine-crow  was  growing  up  as  a  boy.  One  day  he  told  his  (step-) 
father  that  he  was  hungry.  All  the  people  were  starving,  for  there  were 
no  buffalo.  Looks-at-a-bull's  penis  made  medicine.  He  made  buffalo 
tracks  and  that  night  he  sang  his  medicine  song,  shaking  his  rattle. 
The  next  morning  they  saw  buffalo  wherever  they  looked.  His  medicine 
was  genuine.    Now  Medicine-crow  had  plenty  to  eat. 

Looks-at-a-bull's-penis  made  medicine  for  Medicine-crow  and  two 
other  men,  who  would  go  out  and  bring  horses  for  him.  Thus  he  came  to 
own  a  great  many,  all  of  them  black.  Early  in  the  spring  his  stones  were 
light  in  weight,  later  in  the  sununer  they  would  get  heavier.  In  the 
coldest  winter  there  would  be  frost  on  them,  for  they  breathed.    The 


390         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

owner  made  hoop  medicine^  for  Medicine-crow  and  l)ade  him  go  on  the 
warpath  and  bring  a  pinto  from  camps  on  the  Rosebud.  His  son  went 
there  and  brought  a  herd  including  a  buckskin  pinto.  Looks-at-a-bull's- 
penis  made  medicine  for  Two-leggings,  asking  him  to  choose  between 
killing  a  person  and  capturing  horses.  Two-leggings  chose  the  latter  and 
brought  two  horses,  one  of  them  a  buckskin.  The  owner  dreamt  about 
Takes-it-back-twice  and  gave  him  the  bacdritsi'tse  to  take  on  the  war- 
path, but  on  the  way  one  of  the  horns  of  the  stone  broke  off  and  he  was 
not  successful.  The  next  time,  however,  he  captured  a  white  horse  and 
gave  him  to  Looks-at-a-bull's-penis. 

The  bacdritsi'tse  always  told  this  man  where  the  Crow  should  go  so 
as  to  avoid  a  bad  winter  and  have  plenty  to  eat.  Whenever  he  received 
such  instructions,  he  had  a  crier  proclaim  them.  Thus  they  avoided 
hard  times.  According  to  my  informant,  this  medicine  stone  descended 
to  Little-nest,  Looks-at-a-bull's-penis'  own  son,  who  unwrapped  it 
last  spring  (1915). 

Charges-camp  told  me  about  an  old  woman  named  Otter-woman, 
who  discovered  a  bacdritsi'tse  that  brought  her  good  luck.  The  owner 
was  always  fortunate  in  getting  property.  When  the  camp  was  moved, 
this  rock  was  always  taken  to  lead  the  people  to  the  right  hunting- 
grounds.  War  leaders  would  go  to  Otter-woman,  pay  her  a  fee,  and  get 
her  medicine  with  whatever  dreams  she  had  had  about  it. 


'This  refers  to  another  medicine  seen  by  him  in  a  vision. 


BUNDLES. 

In  a  certain  sense  it  seems  artificial  to  segregate  one  class  of  Crow 
medicines  as  'bundles.'  Literally,  almost  all  medicines  are  bundles,  i.e., 
wrapped-up  aggregations  of  sacred  objects.  This,  e.g.,  would  fully 
apply  to  the  medicine  rocks.  On  the  other  hand,  even  where  this  might 
not  hold  it  remains  true  that  for  the  native  the  material  characteristics 
of  a  medicine  are  quite  subordinate  to  its  spiritual  significance,  which 
from  the  nature  of  the  case  must  be  at  least  generically  uniform.  Never- 
theless, from  a  comparative  point  of  view  it  seems  proper  to  separate 
those  medicines  which  are  not  only  physically  more  complex  but  have 
greater  dignity  and  even  tribal  significance.  Such  bundles  are  not 
numerous  among  the  Crow  and  unlike  those  of  the  Hidatsa  and  Black- 
foot  they  do  not  conform  to  a  single  pattern.  The  Medicine  Pipe  and  the 
Horse  Dance  medicine,  both  of  which  are  described  elsewhere,  are  known 
to  be  of  alien  origin,  the  former  being  derived  from  the  Hidatsa,  the  latter 
from  the  Assiniboin.  Among  the  Crow  medicines  derived  from  indigenous 
visions,  the  Sun  dance  doll,i  the  Tobacco  medicines,  and  the  Medicine 
Arrow  probably  approximate  most  closely  to  the  bundles  of  other  tribes. 
Owing  to  the  importance  of  the  sacred  arrows  among  the  Cheyenne,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  even  in  the  last-mentioned  instance  we  are  deaHng 
with  at  least  the  adaptation  of  a  foreign  idea.  Both  the  Medicine  Arrow 
and  the  Doll  were  evidently  passed  on  from  one  close  relative  to  another, 
differing  in  this  respect  from  the  Tobacco  medicine,  which  was  acquired 
by  a  selection  of  sacred  objects  from  the  adopting  chapter  of  the  society 
at  the  time  of  initiation. 

Since  the  other  bundles  have  been  described  elsewhere,  I  will  here 
confine  myself  to  the  Medicine  Arrow  (aruut  maxpe)  concerning  which  I 
interviewed  Hillside  and  Flat-head-woman  in  1914.  I  will  begin  with 
Hillside's  narrative. 

Hillside's  Account  of  the  Arrow  Bundle.  Cut-ear's  father  was  my 
brother.  He  was  young  and  very  poor.  Near  Forsyth  there  is  a  peak 
called  Buatarec.  There  he  went  up ;  in  order  to  get  up  he  had  to  make  a 
kind  of  ladder.  He  chopped  off  a  finger  and  fasted  there.  Then  he  had  a 
vision  of  the  Seven  Stars;  they  appeared  as  seven  persons  and  sang  songs 
to  him.  One  of  them  had  a  medicine  arrow  in  his  possession.  This  one 
sang  a  song.  The  arrow  was  covered;  it  was  notched  and  was  held  with 
the  notch  pointing  the  other  way.    He  sang  a  song  and  threw  the  arrow, 

^This  series,  vol.  16,  12  seq. 

391 


392         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

which  ahghted  by  the  Crow  camp.  Then  the  visionary  heard  the  In- 
dians crying  for  joy  and  saw  a  big  herd  of  horses.    This  was  the  song: — 

awe     c6ndat     hirlace. 
Land     in  any         say  this. 

He  threw  the  arrow  as  in  the  arrow-game.  The  one  who  sang  had  a  red 
arrow,  which  I  have  now.  Four  of  the  seven  visitants  had  arrows.  The 
second  took  a  black  arrow.  He  sang  a  song  with  the  same  words,  then 
threw  the  arrow,  which  went  toward  the  Dakota  and  struck  their  land. 
Then  the  Crow  were  heard  shouting  and  praying  for  first-coups,  and 
people  were  seen  entangled  in  a  fight.  The  Crow  were  heard  saying: 
ahd\  (Thank  you!)  The  third  arrow  was  green,  this  now  belongs  to 
Flat-head- woman.  Another  star  held  it  and  sang: — 
hutse        hiiwa"  tsewik";     hutse  hu  wik'. 

The  wind     to  come  I'll  make;     the  wind  is  coming. 

He  threw  the  arrow.  It  struck  the  Dakota  country.  The  visionary 
heard  horses  making  a  noise  and  the  Crow  shouting  'thanks/  and  saw 
many  dead  enemies.  The  fourth  arrow  was  white.  The  fourth  star 
picked  it  up.  The  first  star  said  to  him,  "That  arrow  is  no  good,  don't 
throw  it."  Nevertheless,  he  sang  and  threw  it,  but  it  wiggled  and  came 
back.    The  first  three  stars  must  have  made  it  come  back. 

I  was  about  ten  years  old  when  among  the  River  Crow.  At  about 
eighteen  I  came  to  the  Ac'araho  band  to  visit  my  brother.  I  had  heard 
about  his  going  out  on  war  parties  as  captain  and  being  successful.  I 
joined  his  party.  He  gave  me  a  black  wolf  and  sent  me  out  as  scout.  I 
was  not  sleepy,  but  a  good  runner,  an  early  riser,  and  a  good  marksman. 
Whenever  I  caught  horses  on  my  trips  I  always  gave  one  or  two  to  my 
brother.  I  had  a  reason  for  so  doing.  The  wolf  was  the  first  tiling  he 
gave  me.  When  I  had  proved  a  good  shot,  my  brother  said,  "You  are  all 
right  now,  you  may  be  a  war  captain." 

I  made  several  trips  to  the  Dakota,  but  ^ame  back  empty-handed 
three  or  four  times.  Then  I  w^ent  out  with  a  magpie  my  brother  gave  me. 
On  one  trip  in  the  Wolf  mountains  the  Dakota  tracked  me.  I  got  scared, 
but  made  my  escape,  though  they  followed  me.  I  was  tired  out  and  fell 
asleep.  I  had  felt  badly  before  falling  asleep,  saying,  'That  medicine 
of  mine  is  bad,  I  have  no  medicine."  In  my  sleep  the  owner  of  the  arrow 
visited  me.  My  brother  had  never  told  me  about  his  vision,  but  in  my 
sleep  I  saw  an  arrow  thrown  toward  where  he  had  fasted.  It  ahghted  on 
an  island  there.  There  were  plenty  of  horses,  the  best  of  them  a  bay 
with  feathers  on  his  forehead,  and  I  heard  the  Crow  shouting  for  joy. 
I  woke  up  and  bade  my  followers  be  ready  when  the  snow  should  melt 
and  make  their  way  to  me  wherever  they  might  be.    It  was. the  beginning 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  393 

of  winter  then.  'Til  go  out  and  bring  a  big  herd  of  horses.  In  all  my 
troubles  so  far  I  have  done  no  leading  at  all,  but  now  I'll  take  you  out  in 
a  different  way,  I'll  take  the  medicine  arrow  with  me."  I  did  not  know 
yet  whether  the  owner  would  give  it  to  me  or  not.  • 

When  it  was  time  for  me  to  start,  I  said  to  my  brother,  "I  shall  go 
out  on  the  warpath."  Then  he  asked  of  his  own  accord,  "Do  you  wish 
to  take  the  arrow?"  ''Yes."  "Very  well."  When  men  made  their 
first  expedition  as  captains,  their  following  was  composed  of  poor  young 
fellows.  Of  the  men  whom  I  had  offered  to  lead  with  the  arrow,  the 
majority  did  not  trust  me  and  said  they  would  not  go  with  me.  Only 
Spotted-horse  had  confidence  and  accompanied  me,  otherwise  I  had  new 
followers.  Where  I  had  seen  the  arrow,  there  I  came  upon  the  enemy. 
Flat-head-woman  was  with  me.  We  saw  the  smoke  from  the  enemy's 
camp.  The  snow  was  ankle-deep.  We  packed  ropes.  In  my  dream  I 
had  seen  horses  on  an  island  feeding  on  cottonwood  bark,  and  we  cap- 
tured fifty  head  of  horses.  Flat-head-woman  got  the  bay.  We  got  away 
that  night.  We  got  near  the  site  of  BilUngs,  where  the  Nez  Perce  were 
camped.  The  Crow  had  left.  I  got  to  the  Nez  Perce  camp  next  morning. 
Flat-head-woman  captured  a  bay  and  a  gray  horse.   I  gave  him  the  gray. 

I  took  pity  on  Flat-head-woman  and  thought  I'd  make  him  a  war 
captain.  So  when  I  returned  I  asked  my  brother,  "Is  this  the  only 
medicine  arrow?"  He  asked  in  return,  "Have  you  seen  any?"  "Yes, 
a  blue  and  a  black  one ;  I  want  to  make  one  for  Flat-head-woman. ' '  ' 'He 
is  no  relative  of  ours."  "That  does  not  matter.  He  was  my  younger 
brother's  comrade,  and  I  want  to  give  it  to  him." 

The  next  time  I  went  to  the  same  place  as  before  with  a  larger  fol- 
lowing. The  people  began  to  beHeve  in  me.  This  time  the  camp  was 
below  the  first  place.  I  had  dogs  and  children  with  me.  I  took  my  party 
to  the  edge  of  the  camp,  brought  back  horses,  and  gave  them  to  the  young 
boys.  Then  I  sent  the  rest  to  get  all  the  unpicketed  horses,  and  came 
home  with  a  hundred  head. 

The  next  time  I  went  with  a  large  party.  Long-horse  had  been 
killed  and  I  went  to  avenge  him.  At  Talhck's  (?)  Fork  there  were  seven 
Dakota  in  a  camp.  I  was  on  a  good  horse,  killed  one,  took  his  gun,  struck 
a  first-coup,  and  scalped  him.    We  killed  all  the  Dakota  but  one. 

The  Crow  were  camped  on  a  creek  above  BilUngs.  The  Dakota  were 
there  and  stole  some  of  our  horses.  I  trailed  them,  stole  thirty  of  theirs 
and  got  home  with  them. 

Wlien  Long-horse  was  killed,  the  Dakota  had  stolen  some  of  our 
horses.    The  Crow  were  on  Trout  Creek.    The  Dakota  came  to  kill  the 


394         Anthropolngicnl  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Whites,  instead  they  had  to  flee,  and  the  Whites  told  the  Crow  about  it. 
The  eneni}'  got  to  the  Musselshell,  into  a  clump  of  pines.  No  one  fol- 
lowed them  except  me,  who  killed  one,  scalped  and  struck  him. 

I  thought  I  was  using  my  medicine  all  alone  and  decided  to  give 
part  of  it  to  Flat-head- woman.  So  I  gave  him  all  my  power  and  ceased 
using  it  myself,  not  going  on  the  warpath  thereafter. 

The  medicine  arrow  was  taken  out  only  on  the  warpath  when  the 
enemy  was  seen,  and  early  in  the  spring.  Now  it  is  taken  out  only  once 
a  year.  When  we  saw  the  enemy,  we  took  it  out  and  prayed  to  it.  Now 
we  pray  for  horses  and  property.  This  spring,  when  Flat-head-woman 
seemed  to  be  dying,  they  opened  it  for  him  and  prayed  on  his  behalf. 

In  a  tipi  where  the  arrow  is  kept  no  one  is  supposed  to  throw  any- 
thing; further,  no  menstruating  women  are  allowed  there. 

My  arrow  is  red;  Flat-head- woman's,  made  by  me,  is  blue;  Fire- 
bear  had  the  black  one.  Old-tail  has  a  red  one  patterned  on  mine,  and 
Bushy-tail  had  a  black  one  in  imitation  of  Four-bear's. 

When  my  brother  gave  me  the  arrow,  he  gave  up  his  right  to  the 
medicine.  When  I  thought  I  had  enough,  I  passed  it  on  to  Flat-head- 
woman.  Nu'  pa-kurutc  (Takes-back-a-woman-twice)  was  the  nickname 
of  my  elder  brother,  given  on  account  of  one  father's  clansman^;  his 
real  name  was  Bear-in-the-water.  My  brother  gave  me  the  name 
Woman- with-plenty-of -horses  (mi  isScg'e  ahoc). 

The  stone  arrow-head  (about  2}^  inches  long)  worn  round  my  neck  is 
the  head  of  mv  medicine  arrow. 


Flat-head-woman's  Arrow  Bundle.  For  the  opportunity  to  see  an 
arrow  bundle,  I  am  indebted  to  Jim  Carpenter,  my  interpreter,  who  pre- 
vailed upon  his  father-in-law.  Flat-head- woman,  to  unwrap  it  for  me  on 
June  20,  1914.  Flat-head- woman  began  with  this  preliminary  state- 
ment : — 

"The  Cheyenne  also  had  a  medicine  arrow,  but  when  the  Crow  got 
theirs,  they  no  longer  had  an  advantage  over  the  latter.  In  the  old  days 
of  war  parties  men  had  to  pay  a  good  price  to  see  the  medicine,  but  now  I 
am  wilhng  to  show  it  for  $5." 

The  medicine  bundle  was  about  five  feet  long,  with  feathers  extend- 
ing at  each  end  beyond  the  outermost  cloth  wrapping.  Flat-head- 
woman  had  a  little  girl  bring  some  live  embers  from  the  iron  stove,  and 
divided  them  into  two  heaps,  about  three  feet  from  each  other,  one  much 


'This  series,  vol.  21,41. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  395 

smaller  than  the  other.  Then  he  strewed  some  material  for  incense 
(ground  cedar?)  on  each  heap,  and  alternately  lowered  each  end  toward 
the  heap  nearer  to  it.  The  bundle,  after  being  taken  down,  had  been 
resting  on  a  blanket  spread  on  the  ground  of  the  tent.  With  some  mut- 
tered words  of  prayer  Flat-head-woman  opened  the  bundle.  The  cloth 
wrappings  were  folded  back  on  the  sides  without  disturbing  their  rela- 
tive positions.  There  were  two  outer  cloth  wrappings,  then  a  sack  made 
of  a  complete  buffalo  calfskin  with  the  head  on,  out  of  which  was  pulled 
a  rawhide  cyhnder  open  at  both  ends  and  of  more  unifoim  width,  as 
well  as  rather  longer,  than  the  common  cylindrical  medicine  bags. 
Turning  the  tail  end  of  the  calfskin  sack  inside  out,  Flat-head- 
woman  exposed  paintings  of  horsetracks  and  human  figures,  the  latter 
representing  Dakota.  "This  picture  was  drawn  before  I  started;  then 
I  went  out  and  killed  some  Dakota.  The  horsetracks  represent  a  horse 
named  to  me  by  a  visionary  adviser  to  be  stolen  from  the  Dakota.  The 
calfskin  is  the  main  cover  of  the  bundle,  but  I  keep  it  wrapped  up  in 
cloth  for  fear  it  might  be  struck  by  lightning."  In  the  rawhide  cover, 
there  are  two  sticks  about  three  feet  in  length;  originally  there  was 
a  third,  but  it  was  lost.  "We  hunted  for  it  in  the  mountains.  It  was 
foggy.  At  last  I  found  it,  but  then  I  was  afraid  to  touch  it  and  left  it 
there."  Inside  the  rawhide  cylinder  was  another  sack  of  canvas. 
Though  it  is  of  poor  quahty.  Flat-head-woman  explained,  it  is  the  one 
prescribed  in  a  vision.  Inside  of  it  was  a  colored  wrapper;  then  followed 
a  blue  wrapper;  a  reddish  (?)  wrapper;  another  cloth  wrapper;  a  green 
wrapper;  and  when  the  last-mentioned  cover  was  thrown  back  there  was 
nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  large  bunch  of  feathers.  Now  Flat-head-woman 
combined  the  two  incense  heaps  and  strewed  incense  on  the  top.  Then  he 
carefully  arranged  the  feathers  and  took  out  from  among  them  the  arrow. 
It  had  a  stone  head  about  one  inch  long,  a  shaft  of  birch  wood  (?),  with 
a  standing  feather  at  the  end,  and  four  tails  of  horses  Flat-head-woman 
brought  home  from  war.  Every  time  he  captured  horses  a  tail  was 
added,  each  representing  a  different  war  party  on  which  good  horses 
were  cut  loose.    My  informant's  narrative  follows. 

Flat-head-woman's  Tale.  In  the  old  times  when  there  was  disease 
people  would  offer  fine  calico  cloths  to  the  arrow.  In  time  of  war  people 
would  say  to  it,  "If  I  am  not  killed,  I'll  give  you  new  cloth"  (or  some 
other  gift). 

In  order  to  own  this  I  had  to  go  through  a  good  many  hardships. 
(Here  he  took  smoke  out  of  a  redstone  pipe  and  pointed  the  stem  at  the 
arrow.)    "Why,"  the  owner  asked  me,  "do  you  want  this  so  badly?    You 


396         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

are  not  related  to  us,  you  are  a  different  person  altogether."  Then  Hill- 
side, his  brother,  said,  "He  was  the  comrade  of  my  younger  brother  who  is 
dead.  They  loved  each  other,  that's  why  I  wish  to  give  it  to  him.  Don't 
say  any  more  about  it  (dirisal)."  So  the  owner  said:  "Tell  him  to  fetch 
four  birch  (?)  sticks."  I  went  to  look  for  four  good  ones,  found  them  and 
brought  them  to  him.  The  owner  peeled  them,  trimmed  them,  and  put 
them  up  to  dry.  There  were  about  seven  lodges  of  the  owner's  relatives 
who  camped  together.  I  took  buffalo  meat  and  put  some  in  front  of 
every  one  of  these  lodges,  thus  the  owner  became  well-disposed  toward 
me  and  wilHng  to  give  me  the  medicine.  After  the  sticks  were  dried,  they 
were  turned  over  to  me.  Nothing  was  said  about  the  feathering  of  the 
arrow  till  spring,  when  word  was  sent  that  they  were  ready  to  feather  the 
stick  for  me.  The  snow  was  melting.  The  owner  called  all  his  brothers 
and  me  to  his  lodge.  A  buffalo  hide  with  its  tanned  white  side  up  was 
used  to  put  the  stick  on.  Then  they  tried  to  find  out  who  was  a  good 
arrow-maker.  One  man  was  named,  but  the  others  did  not  consider 
him  suited  for  the  purpose.  Finally  I  was  sent  to  an  old  man,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  related  to  me.  I  said  to  him,  "Brother,  they  want  to  give 
me  the  arrow."  So  the  old  man  came,  smoothed  the  arrow  between  two 
rocks  and  notched  it.  Then  the  owner  told  me  the  red  plmne  on  the 
shaft  represented  the  fire.  "If  you  are  in  battle,  carrying  this  bundle, 
don't  be  afraid  of  the  enemy,  they  can't  hit  you  with  their  arrows. 
Since  we  have  made  this  one,  we'll  take  the  Dakota  by  their  bangs  and 
have  their  foreheads  to  the  ground."  The  owner  said  that  he  had  seen 
his  arrow  crossing  that  of  the  Cheyenne,  i.e.,  the  Crow  arrow  was 
superior.    (At  this  point  Flat-head-woman  offered  smoke  to  his  arrow.) 

The  owner  said,  "The  day  before  yesterday,  as  I  came  out  of  my 
tent,  there  were  seven  cranes  flying  in  the  air.  Go  and  bring  one  of 
those  seven.  Get  one  of  your  friends  who  is  a  good  shot  to  go  with  you." 
I  thought  it  was  impossible :  the  cranes  must  be  far  off  and  were  possibly 
already  in  some  foreign  land  by  that  time.  I  felt  badly,  still  I  went  out, 
and  told  my  comrade  what  was  to  be  done.  He  laughed.  "How  can  we 
see  them?  We  can't  see  them;  it  is  impossible."  Still  he  went  along  to 
please  me.  We  pretended  then  to  go  out  hunting,  went  up-stream,  and 
looked  about  in  the  marshes.  We  kept  going.  There  was  a  sleety  snow- 
storm. Suddenly  the  clouds  were  gone,  and  my  comrade,  pointing  at 
the  prairie,  said:  "Look  at  the  white-tail  deer  there."    When  I  looked,  it 

was  the  seven  cranes  making  their  pr pr pr sounds.    There 

happened  to  be  a  coulee  leading  up  to  them,  so  we  got  about  as  close  as 
Jack's  tent  from  here  (about  fifty  feet).      Then  I  told  my  comrade. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  397 

"You  are  a  good  marksman,  kill  the  biggest  one."  So  he  aimed,  shot, 
and  missed.  The  cranes  went  straight  up.  I  was  down-hearted.  Onlj'- 
black  spots  could  be  seen  where  the  cranes  were  flying  on  high.  "You 
pretend  to  be  a  good  shot,  you  have  caused  my  downfall,"  I  said  to  my 
comrade.  As  I  looked  up,  the  birds  began  to  come  down  and  ahghted 
again  in  the  spot  where  they  had  been  shot  at.  When  they  ahghted,  my 
comrade  again  wanted  to  shoot,  but  I  took  the  gun  away  from  him, 
aimed  at  the  big  one,  fired,  and  missed  him.  The  birds  went  up.  I  was 
down-hearted,  but  looked  up  and  thought  the  birds  would  come  down 
again.  They  came  back  to  their  old  place.  Then  my  comrade  took  the 
gun,  shot,  and  missed  again.  They  went  up  straight  in  the  air.  We  lay 
on  our  backs  and  watched.  They  came  down  again.  My  comrade  took 
the  gun,  made  medicine,  and  fired.  We  heard  a  dull  sound  as  if  the  shot 
had  struck  something.  The  birds  all  flew  straight  up  into  the  air,— small 
specks  hardly  to  be  seen,  but  we  could  hear  the  noise  they  made.  I 
scolded  my  companion,  but  he  said,  "Only  six  of  them  are  gone,  there's 
one  coming  now."  The  seventh  alighted  in  the  same  place  whence  they 
had  flown  up  before.  I  was  going  to  shoot  it,  but  my  comrade  would  not 
let  me,  ran  after  the  crane,  threw  his  blanket  over  it,  and  caught  it. 
(Here  smoke  was  again  offered). 

The  owner,  in  sending  me  out,  had  told  me  he  should  wait  for  me  in 
a  certain  place.  I  took  the  bird,  and  we  ran  back  to  camp.  The  bird 
had  a  long  neck,  and  I  had  its  neck  hanging  out.  When  I  approached  the 
lodge  I  was  laughing  and  full  of  joy ;  those  inside  were  all  astonished .  The 
owner  called  for  the  bird,  and  had  it  sitting  in  front  of  him.  I  expected 
that  he  would  pull  out  the  long  feathers,  but  he  only  took  two  long  ones, 
one  from  each  side  of  the  wing,  and  one  from  the  middle.  These  three 
he  put  down.  The  two  long  ones  are  on  the  arrow  now.  The  old  arrow- 
maker  was  to  do  the  fixing  up. 

Now  the  owner  said  to  Hillside:  "You,  too,  claim  to  have  had  a 
vision  of  it.  Do  j^ou  make  half  of  it,  and  I'll  make  half  of  it.  You'll  give 
him  some  of  your  power,  and  I'll  give  him  some  of  mine."  Hillside  said, 
"Very  well,  we'll  make  it  all  green.  We'll  make  the  plumes  green  that 
are  to  go  on.  We'll  have  the  enemies'  horses  for  its  plumes,  and  I'll 
make  a  covering  from  the  skin  of  a  young  buffalo  calf.  That  is  all  for 
me;  now  do  you  start  yours."  The  owner  said:  "I  will  make  a  red 
plume  to  represent  fire.  We'll  shape  an  arrow-head  of  rawhide.  If 
(to  Flat-head-woman)  in  your  vision  you  see  the  rawhide  paint  gone, 
open  the  bundle,  and  if  it  is  gone,  then  make  a  stone  head."  That  is 
what  happened,  and  so  I  have  a  stone  point.    "If  either  you  or  Hillside, 


398         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

or  I,  should  see  the  arrow  point  of  rawhide  gone  in  our  visions/'  said  the 
owner,  "we'll  replace  it  with  stone.  Get  the  hide  of  a  four-year-old 
buffalo,  we'll  use  that  for  a  cover."  I  went,  killed  a  buffalo,  and  brought 
the  hide.  When  it  was  not  yet  dry,  the  owner  painted  the  rawhide. 
"This  represents  the  painting  on  your  blanket  when  you  return  from  an 
expedition  on  which  an  enemy  has  been  killed.  Such  and  such  a  cloth 
shall  be  used  for  a  wrapping.  Put  a  plug  of  tobacco  at  the  bottom  for 
the  arrow  to  smoke."  I  was  about  thirty  years  old  when  this  bundle 
was  made,  and  the  tobacco  is  still  there. 

The  arrow-maker  was  told  how  to  put  the  different  paints  and  other 
decorations  on  the  arrow.  He  covered  it  with  green  paint.  He  was 
instructed  by  the  owner  and  Hillside.  When  it  was  completed,  they  laid 
it  down  and  told  me  to  get  all  kinds  of  feathers  for  the  arrow  to  rest  on. 
Then  the  bird  was  given  back  to  me,  and  they  told  me  to  send  it  home. 
I  went  out  some  distance  and  set  it  down.  It  began  to  run  and  dis- 
appeared.   It  was  not  dead. 

Everything  looked  common  to  me  till  the  sacks  were  made,  then  it 
began  to  look  like  real  medicine  to  me.  It  was  wrapped  and  tied.  I 
took  it  up.  After  a  while  the  owner  came  to  tell  me  to  tie  two  eagle 
wing-feathers  to  each  end  of  the  bundle.  After  several  years  he  came  to 
me  and  said,  "Open  your  medicine,  I  had  a  vision  last  night  that  it 
(the  arrow-head)  was  gone;  let  us  see  whether  it  is  true."  I  do  not  know 
how  it  happened,  but  the  arrow  point  was  gone.  The  owner  put  on  a 
stone  head  then,  and  ever  since  it  has  been  there. 

Everyone  heard  that  I  owned  one  of  the  medicine  arrows  and  talked 
about  it.  I  would  be  at  home  when  Hillside  or  the  owner  would  visit  me 
and  tell  me  to  go  to  the  Dakota  in  some  region  they  had  seen  the  night 
before  and  to  fetch  such  and  such  a  horse.  They  would  tell  me  they  had 
seen  an  arrow  thrown  and  alighting  in  a  certain  place,  and  had  heard  a 
rumbhng  noise  and  the  whinnying  of  a  herd  of  horses.  Thus  they  sent 
me  out.  That  is  how  they  started.  After  a  while  they  no  longer  sent  me 
out.  Then  after  a  while  they  said,  "We  see  you  are  well  posted,  now  go 
out  of  your  own  accord."  I  was  now  to  have  visions  of  my  own.  I  did 
not  see  an  arrow  as  they  did,  but  a  long  species  of  grass.  I  would  see  the 
stalk  flying  like  an  an-ow  and  follow  it  with  my  eyes  till  it  alighted  some- 
where, then  I  would  go  thither.  From  now  on  everything  depended  on 
myself.  I  had  visions  of  different  things.  I  made  a  little  notched  stick 
about  four  inches  long  myself,  because  I  had  a  vision  to  that  effect. 
If  the  enemy  had  stolen  our  horses  and  I  put  this  on  their  tracks,  they 
would  sleep  too  long  or  be  otherwise  delayed,  so  we  would  catch  up  if  I 
led  the  party. 


1922.]  Loivie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  399 

At  the  Old  Agency  one  time  the  Piegan  stole  some  of  our  horses. 
All  the  young  men  were  out,  and  I  came  late  with  the  arrow.  They  were 
glad  to  see  me  and  wished  me  to  take,  the  lead.  I  got  to  the  tracks, 
planted  my  stick  there,  and  we  did  not  have  to  go  far.  They  had  over- 
slept. We  got  all  our  horses  back,  killed  some,  brought  back  the  hair, 
and  none  of  us  got  hurt.  When  I  got  home  I  put  this  medicine  back 
into  the  bundle  again.    I  did  this  two  or  three  times. 

When  Dakota  were  sighted,  young  men  would  come  to  me  with 
caUcoes,  pray  to  the  arrow  and  say,  'T  wish  not  to  be  hit  and  to  come 
back  alive  (hdmhi)."  There  came  to  be  a  big  bundle  of  these  cloth 
offerings. 

Once  I  went  out  in  the  dead  of  winter.  When  a  considerable  distance 
out,  I  had  a  vision.  I  heard  a  voice  say :  "Keep  going,  when  you  get  to  a 
certain  land  you  will  see  a  snake.  This  will  be  a  sign  that  you  are  to 
get  horses  and  will  rejoice  on  your  way  back."  The  other  men  laughed  at 
me  because  there  are  no  snakes  in  the  winter.  About  noon  we  came  to  a 
little  creek,  and  there  was  a  snake  there.  Then  they  believed  that  what 
I  had  said  was  true.  My  old  comrade  stayed  with  me,  we  changed 
direction  and  brought  back  some  horses. 

The  arrow  in  a  vision  forbids  me  to  do  certain  things.  It  told  me 
not  to  throw  anything  and  not  to  let  anyone  else  throw  anything  where 
the  arrow  is.  It  told  me:  "If  that  is  done  in  your  lodge,  it  will  be  the 
same  as  throwing  away  some  of  your  property."  It  forbade  me  to  strike 
the  tipi  harboring  the  arrow  in  order  to  knock  off  the  snow.  It  said, 
"If  you  want  to  reMove  the  snow,  take  a  long  willow  and  gently  scrape 
off  the  snow  without  hitting  it."  It  forbade  me  to  cook  the  fat  above  the 
paunch  or  to  throw  ashes  out  of  a  tipi.  "If  you  don't  keep  the  rule,  the 
owner  of  the  arrow  will  be  blind." 

Once  I  went  on  the  warpath.  The  buffalo  scared  our  horses  away.  I 
took  my  little  arrow  and  planted  it  in  the  horses'  track.  They  heard  a 
horse  whinnying  and  found  a  gray  with  a  rope  on  it,  wrapped  round  a 
bush.    It  was  my  horse ;  the  others  could  not  be  found. 

The  owner  came  to  me  once  and  said:  "You  must  have  visions  of 
your  own.  If  a  young  man  should  ask  you  for  it,  it  is  your  place  now  to 
make  a  bundle  for  him."  I  spoke  to  Hillside  about  this,  but  he  would 
not  allow  it.  He  said,  "If  it  were  not  for  me,  you  would  not  own  it;  I 
gave  it  to  you  because  you  were  my  brother's  comrade,  otherwise  I 
should  not  have  done  so.  Do  not  make  it  for  anyone  else.  When  you 
have  children,  give  it  to  them."  My  eldest  daughter  (Jim  Carpenter's 
wife)  owns  it  now. 


400         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

The  owner  of  the  medicine  originally  got  it  (in  a  vision)  from  a 
woman  with  black  hair  and  white  face,  wearing  a  buckskin  suit  and  a 
string  of  beads  round  the  breast.^ 

On  a  war  party  I  found  red  plumes,  and  I  put  them  into  the  bundle 
with  the  feathers. 

Before  Hillside  and  I  started  on  the  warpath  the  owner  would  call 
us  in  and  brush  us  with  one  of  the  feathers  from  his  arrow  bundle.  We 
would  not  have  to  pay  for  this,  but  other  young  men  who  desired  to  be 
brushed  by  him  would  have  to  paj^  a  fee.  When  I  got  close  to  the 
enemy's  camp  I  would  sing  my  song  and  open  the  bundle.  Then  it  got 
dark  and  cloudy  so  that  we  could  hardly  see  one  another.  In  most  cases 
the  arrow  would  protect  us,  so  the  enemy  could  not  see  our  tracks. 

In  the  original  vision  there  were  four  arrows:  red,  blue,  green,  black 
(dark  blue) .  Of  these  four  the  white  one  was  the  most  effective  and  its 
owner  would  become  a  great  chief.  However,  he  was  soon  to  be  killed, 
and  for  that  reason  people  were  afraid  of  owning  it,  and  it  was  left  out. 
In  singing  the  owners  must  not  point  the  arrow  toward  themselves  lest 
they  be  hurt,  but  toward  the  enem3^  Through  the  arrow  the  Crow  be- 
came people  again  (i.e.,  after  suffering  reverses  from  other  tribes). 
Wlien  we  opened  the  bundle  formerly  it  got  windy  and  cloudy,  but  it  is 
not  so  now.  Something  must  have  changed.  When  there  was  a  battle, 
a  virtuous  young  woman  (virgin)  would  open  it.  More  recently  the 
owner  said,  "Now  you  can  have  your  wife  and  children  open  it.  It  does 
not  look  well  to  have  strangers  do  it." 

One  time  when  on  a  war  party  along  the  Yellowstone  I  had  a  vision 
near  Forsyth.  "Go  up  where  the  arrow  originated,  and  in  one  of  the 
cracks  there  you  will  see  an  eagle  feather  of  the  kind  next  to  the  foremost. 
Take  it  out."  I  searched  for  it,  found  it,  and  took  it  on  the  warpath. 
The  people  never  saw  it  except  when  I  returned  from  a  successful  party, 
when  I  would  expose  it  on  a  pole.  But  even  then  they  could  not  see  it 
near  enough  to  see  just  what  it  was  like. 

In  battle  young  men  tried  to  be  the  first  ones  to  carry  the  bundle  and 
would  give  presents  for  being  permitted  to  do  so.  These  arrow-bearers 
were  not  afraid  of  anything,  for  they  knew  they  could  not  be  hurt.  They 
had  to  pay  for  this  privilege.  Sometimes  the  owners  themselves  carried 
their  bundle;  then  they  felt  as  if  no  battle  were  going  on  at  all.  The 
owner  would  point  the  arrow  at  his  associate-owners  and  sing,  and  then  a 
wind  would  come  up. 

'This  is  of  course  at  variance  with  Hillside's  account  (p.  391). 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  Crow.  401 

In  giving  me  the  arrow  the  owner  said,  "When  you  go  out  on  the 
warpath,  you'll  see  a  white  buffalo  and  kill  it."  It  came  true,  and  this 
proved  to  me  the  truth  of  the  medicine. 

Before  the  Custer  massacre  another  general  (Ter^y?),  named  Three- 
stars  (r  ge  rawic),  was  helped  by  the  Crow.  Two  young  men  both  wished 
to  carry  my  arrow  and  had  a  dispute  over  it.  I  and  Medicine-crow  took 
the  lead  in  this  fight  on  account  of  our  medicines.  When  Three-stars 
went  away,  Custer  came.  The  Dakota  tried  to  kill  off  all  the  Crow, 
but  on  account  of  the  arrow  they  could  not  do  it.  They  lost  plenty  of 
property  and  horses.  Custer  was  unlucky;  he  was  destroyed.  The 
Three-stars  fight  belongs  to  the  arrow.  It  always  protected  me.  Custer 
heard  of  it. 

Painted  Tipis. 

Painted  tipis  did  not  play  the  important  part  they  did  among  other 
Plains  tribes.  In  1907  on  a  short  visit  to  the  Northern  Blackfoot  of 
Gleichen,  Alberta,  I  saw  a  fair  number  of  painted  tipis  pitched  at  the 
time  of  their  annual  festivities;  but  though  I  have  repeatedly  visited 
the  Crow  on  like  occasions  I  recall  but  a  single  painted  tipi,  which  was 
decorated  with  the  figure  of  the  Thunderbird.  Nevertheless,  there  were 
a  number  of  painted  tipis  in  the  old  days  and  their  owners  were  esteemed 
as  medicinemen  and  took  precedence  in  moving  the  camp.  Enemies' 
scalps  were  always  taken  to  such  tents  and  subsequently  given  to  women 
who  had  lost  brothers  in  battle;  sometimes  they  kept  the  lock  for  a  while 
and  would  then  throw  it  away. 

Painted  tipis  were  of  course  revealed  in  visions.  Returning  from 
his  experience,  the  visionary  would  have  some  men  gather,  had  the 
buffalo-skin  cover  spread  out  and  the  paint  lying  about  ready  for  use. 
Then  he  would  say,  "I  saw  this  when  fasting  on  a  mountain,"  and  would 
give  a  full  description  of  his  vision.  He  would  close  with  some  such 
words  as,  'T  am  painting  this  tent  on  behaK  of  the  Crow.  You  will 
fare  well,  horses  and  scalps  will  come  into  our  camp  from  everywhere." 

The  most  noted  owner  of  a  painted  tipi  recalled  by  Gray-bull  was 
White-lip.  He  chopped  off  a  joint  of  one  of  his  fingers  and  burnt  it  up 
with  a  buffalo  chip.  He  had  a  trance.  When  he  regained  consciousness, 
he  was  in  a  tipi  with  two  black  stripes  by  the  door  and  another  stripe 
in  the  center  of  the  rear.  Someone  said,  "Walk  round,  look,  this  is  your 
tent."  They  gave  him  a  pipe.  When  he  got  home,  he  went  on  the  war- 
path and  the  Crow  met  five  Dakota.  White-hp  asked  his  companions, 
"Why  did  you  let  the  Dakota  escape*?"    He  pursued  them  on  horseback, 


402         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

jumped  off  in  front  of  one  of  them,  shot  him  and  took  his  gun.  He  shot 
and  killed  a  second  man.  The  third  fled  but  was  also  killed  by  him.  He 
did  this  very  soon  after  his  vision.  No  one  ever  achieved  what  he  did, — 
killing  three  enemies  single-handed. 

White-lip  wore  a  necklace  with  plumes,  hanging  down;  in  the 
center  there  was  a  red  clam  shell,  which  Gray-bull  tliinks  symbolized 
the  morningstar,  possibly  the  sun  or  moon.  He  also  wore  a  shell  above 
the  point  of  attachment  of  his  switch  in  the  back.  He  had  weasel-skin 
trimmings  in  the  back. 

White-lip  was  leading  the  camp  as  chief.  The  people  were  on  a 
buffalo  hunt  and  there  was  a  strong  wind  blowing  so  as  to  throw  the 
scent  to  the  game.  White-lip  pointed  his  pipe  in  all  directions,  drawing  a 
circle.  The  wind  forthwith  blew  from  the  opposite  direction.  Plenty 
of  buffalo  were  killed.  White-lip  was  never  shot  in  battle.  He  lived  to 
be  about  110  years  of  age;  his  skin  would  tear  when  he  moved. 

The  manner  of  decorating  the  sacred  tipis  varied.  Some  had  the 
picture  of  a  moon  on  them,  sometimes  the  whole  lodge  was  painted  red 
or  with  some  other  color  according  to  the  revelation. 

No  Crow,  according  to  one  informant,  put  up  a  lodge  of  twenty  or 
more  buffalo  hides  unless  he  had  dreamt  to  that  effect.  Otherwise,  the 
Indians  believed,  he  or  one  of  his  close  relatives  would  die. 

Shield^. 

Shields  (minnatse)  were  sacred  objects  inasmuch  as  their  decoration 
was  revealed  in  visions;  plain  shields  for  ordinary  use  were  not  con- 
sidered medicine.  The  protective  quaUty  of  the  former  type  was 
naturally  atti'ibuted  to  the  supernatural  experience  and  men  going  into 
an  important  battle  desired  to  carry  one  of  them.  Consequently  they 
would  approach  the  owner  and  ask  for  his  shield,  saying,  "If  I  achieve 
such  and  such  a  deed,  I  will  give  you  a  horse"  (or  some  other  property).  If 
successful,  they  would  then  fulfil  their  promise. 

Shields  were  made  from  the  hide  of  a  buffalo  and  White-arm  says 
that  the  ventral-thoracic  part  was  utilized.  According  to  this  in- 
formant most  shields  were  decorated  on  the  rawhide  itself,  but  my  im- 
pression is  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  painting  appeared  on  the 
buckskin  cover. 

In  moving  camp  the  owners  would  entrust  their  shields  to  their 
wives,  who  fastened  them  on  one  side  of  the  pommel  while  to  the  other 
side  was  secured  a  stick  about  four  feet  long  and  wrapped  with  otter- 
skin  ;   the  cantle  had  a  cylindrical  bag  attached  on  the  left  side  and  the 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  403 

spear-holder  with  erect  spear  or  sabre  on  the  right.  If  a  man  had  two 
wives  and  only  one  shield,  they  would  sometimes  quarrel  as  to  who 
should  carry  it,  for  the  one  doing  so  was  regarded  as  the  husband's 
favorite.  Usually  the  owner  took  no  part  in  the  dispute,  letting  the 
women  settle  the  matter  between  them,  but  sometimes  he  assigned  it  to 
the  one  he  loved  more. 

In  going  on  the  warpath  the  owner  of  a  shield  had  it  carried  by  a 
young  man,  who  took  the  lead.  Whenever  the  party  halted  for  smoking 
or  resting,  the  bearer  would  put  the  shield  on  some  sagebrush,  for  it 
must  not  touch  the  ground;  further  he  was  not  allowed  to  carry  any 
weapons.  When  in  sight  of  the  enemy's  camp,  the  captain  owning  a 
shield  took  it  himself,  as  was  the  custom  with  other  medicines  too. 
Sometimes  shields  were  taken  from  and  by  the  enemy;  such  capture 
was  mentioned  at  dances  in  the  recital  of  coups,  though  it  was  not 
reckoned  on  a  par  with  that  of  a  gun.  White-arm  recollected  the  case  of 
Long-piegan,  a  Crow,  taking  a  Dakota  shield,  but  said  the  Piegan 
Indians  excelled  all  other  tribes  in  getting  into  a  hostile  camp  and  stealing 
shields  or  other  medicines. 

When  a  man  was  about  to  die,  he  would  will  his  shield  to  his  son  or 
otherwise  to  a  younger  brother.  It  was  never  inherited  by  a  woman.  If 
the  owner  had  made  no  disposition  of  it,  a  man  he  had  adopted  as  his  son 
in  selling  him  some  medicine  might  mourn  in  conspicuous  fashion  and 
subsequently  announce,  "I  have  done  this  for  that  shield."  Then  the 
family  of  the  deceased  felt  that  he  deserved  to  own  it  and  gave  it  to  him. 
White-arm  knew  of  no  case  where  a  man  had  been  buried  with  his 
shield,  but  my  interpreter  thought  Ten-bear  had  been  and  Medicine- 
crow  told  me  he  would  under  no  conditions  sell  his  shield  at  any  price 
since  he  wanted  to  be  buried  with  it. 

As  already  noted,  no  shield  was  supposed  to  touch  the  ground.  A 
shield-bearer  carried  his  shield  on  the  left  arm  and  horsemen  charging 
the  enemy  did  not  pass  on  his  left  side,  otherwise  their  horses  would  fall 
down.  In  other  respects  the  notions  associated  with  shields  varied. 
When  in  my  presence  uncovering  his  shield,  which  had  two  covers, 
Medicine-crow  followed  a  procedure  which  may  or  may  not  have  been 
typical.  He  took  a  few  live  coals  and  burned  ise  for  incense,  then  held 
his  shield  above  the  fire  and  raised  it  a  little  distance,  lowered  it  and 
raised  it  a  little  higher  than  before,  and  repeated  this  performance  till 
the  fourth  time,  when  he  raised  the  shield  high  above  his  head.  Then  he 
removed  the  buckskin  covers. 


404         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

A  magnificent  collection  of  Crow  shields  was  made  by  Dr.  G.  A. 
Dorsey  and  Mr.  S.  C.  Simms  on  behalf  of  the  Field  Museum  in  Chicago 
and  is  housed  in  that  institution.  I  do  not  know  what  notes  were  secured 
in  connection  with  these  specimens.  Owing  to  these  previous  purchases 
the  number  remaining  on  the  Reservation  was  very  small  and  since  their 
owners  either  declined  to  sell  at  all  or  demanded  extravagant  prices  I 
was  able  to  acquire  only  two  complete  shields  (Fig.  3  and  4)  and  two  shield 
covers,  (Fig.  5)  but  was  permitted  to  view  one  or  two  others.  Fortu- 
nately my  informants  were  able  to  give  some  data  about  other  shields 
they  had  seen  or  heard  about,  and  below  I  give  all  the  information 
secured. 

Medicine-crow's  shield  was  decorated  on  the  cover  with  a  series  of 
parallel  vertical  lines  resting  on  a  horizontal  hne;  these  were  said  to 
symbolize  clouds.  Below  the  horizontal  hne  there  were  two  triangles 
with  long  zigzag  appendages;  the  triangles  represent  Buffalo-above's 
eyes,  the  zigzags  his  breath.  According  to  another  note,  the  buffalo  is 
represented  as  urinating,  and  the  black  lines  symbohzed  the  glancing  off 
of  bullets.  On  the  shield  there  were  also  some  buffalo  tracks.  Zigzag 
ornamentation  is  rather  common  on  the  shields  exhibited  in  Chicago; 
for  example,  in  two  cases  I  noted  that  the  decorative  surface  was  tri- 
partite, the  central  third  being  occupied  by  a  number  of  parallel  zig- 
zags, while  above  and  below  were  symmetrical  series  of  parallel  lines. 
To  the  middle  of  Medicine-crow's  cover  there  was  attached  some  horse- 
hair representing  a  scalp.  At  the  top  of  the  cover  there  was  a  bunch  of 
mountain-grouse  feathers,  below  an  eagle  feather  was  hanging. 

White-arm  and  Grandmother' s-knife  spoke  of  a  type  of  shield  painted 
yellow,  decorated  with  a  buffalo  representation  in  the  middle  and  with 
weasel  tracks;  to  the  upper  edge  was  tied  a  yellow  weasel.  There 
were  several  of  these  shields  owned  by  men  of  the  xuxkaraxtse  clan. 

Another  shield,  also  painted  yellow  all  over,  was  decorated  with 
rabbit  tracks.  The  owner's  wife  had  to  take  care  of  it.  As  soon  as  the 
sun  rose,  she  placed  it  toward  the  east  and  as  the  sun  moved  she  changed 
its  position  westward,  wrapping  it  up  at  sunset.  Owners  of  this  type  of 
shield  were  not  allowed  to  eat  any  kind  of  kidney  and  did  not  permit 
others  to  bring  kidneys  into  their  lodge.  Shows-a-fish  inherited  one  of 
these  shields. 

Another  type,  greatly  admired  by  White-arm,  was  covered  with  a 
light  layer  of  red  paint  and  streaked  in  spots  by  a  heavier  appHcation  of 
the  same  paint.  Two-bear's  ears  were  represented,  and  attache i  to 
each  was  a  six-inch  cord  tipped  with  a  plume.     The  streaks  represented 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  3 


Fig.  5. 

Fig.  3  (50.1-3894O).     Magpie's  Shield. 

Fig.  4  f50.1-3895a).     Wolf-lies-down's  Shield. 

Fig.  5  a(50-6932),  6  (50.1-3896).     Shield  Covers. 


405 


406         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

clouds.  This  shield  was  owned  by  Biiatac  (Coyote).  In  the  rear  of  the 
lodge  where  it  was  kept  people  were  prohibited  to  put  any  moccasins 
for  fear  of  some  stroke  of  misfortune. 

Another  shield  said  in  1916  to  be  kept  in  Sheridan,  Wyoming,  had  a 
buckskin  cover  painted  with  the  figure  of  a  buffalo,  over  which  was  tied 
a  buffalo  tail.  The  painted  cover  was  in  turn  enclosed  in  a  second  cover. 
A  shield  in  the  possession  of  the  Museum  before  my  purchase  seems  to 
belong  to  the  same  category  (Fig.  6). 


Fig.  6  (50-57106).     Buffalo-hide  Shield. 


One  of  the  most  noted  shields  because  of  the  fame  it  brought  its 
owners  was  called  minnatse  dpewac-bice,  shield  having  a  short  intestine. 
It  was  painted  white  all  over,  except  for  a  red  spiral,  which  represented 
the  intestine. 

A  shield  so  highly  prized  that  it  was  never  exposed  in  sham  battles 
and  accordingly  never  seen  by  White-arm  is  or  was  owned  by  Two-white- 
birds  of  Pryor.  It  was  abundantly  ornamented  with  feathers  and  other 
decoration.  UnHke  other  shields,  it  was  not  tied  to  a  woman's  saddle  in 
traveling  but  carried  on  her  back. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Croir.  407 

One  shield  was  known  as  minnats  i'tsifie  hawdtec,  shield  supported 
on  only  one  pole.  White-arm  thought  it  had  a  bear  painted  on  it  and 
might  be  identical  with  Flat-head-woman's  shield. 

Bull-weasel's  mother  was  said  to  own  a  shield  covered  with  white 
paint  and  having  real  bear's  ears  tied  to  the  middle;  between  the  ears 
was  the  tail  of  a  sage-hen  and  at  the  bottom  there  was  some  beadwork. 
This  shield  is  called  minnats  tsVisg'isewice,  shield  having  a  big  sage-hen. 

A  shield  known  as  minnats  i'g'e  sd'pudwice,  shield  with  the  Dipper, 
was  painted  all  over  with  a  hght  yellow.  The  seven  stars  were  put  on  at 
distances  of  from  five  to  six  inches  from  one  another. 

White-arm  liimself  made  a  shield,  though  a  small  one,  which  he  had 
seen  before  becoming  Christianized.  He  cut  four  horsetracks  on  one  leg 
and  three  on  the  other,  also  cutting  his  arms  and  dragging  horses'  heads. 
He  placed  the  cut  flesh  on  buffalo  chips  as  an  offering  to  the  Sun.  The 
cuts  on  his  arm  represented  coups  he  was  paying  for,  the  dragging  of  the 
skulls  any  gift  that  might  be  made.  My  informant  did  not  describe 
what  decoration  was  on  his  shield. 

Each  shield  had  distinctive  taboos.  In  some  instances  no  person 
was  permitted  to  borrow  coals  from  the  owner's  fire;  in  others,  visitors 
to  his  lodge  were  obUged  to  sit  down  immediately  on  entering;  still  other 
shield-owners  insisted  that  no  one  must  strike  their  tipi  with  any  object. 

Charges-camp  was  said  to  have  owned  a  shield  decorated  with  the 
figure  of  a  man  in  black;  this  man  was  shown  with  open  mouth,  exhibit- 
ing teeth  resembhng  a  dog's.  Once  the  Flathead  stole  Charges-camp's 
horses  and  also  his  shield.  Another  Crow  then  dreamt  of  it  and  made  it, 
my  informant's  brother  paid  the  visionary  for  it  and  my  informant  in- 
herited it  from  his  brother. 

I  saw  a  shield  with  several  buckskin  covers,  of  which  the  outermost 
was  decorated  with  parallel  vertical  hues  in  red.  Across  the  center  of 
the  shield  from  top  to  bottom  and  beyond  it  there  was  an  otterskin ;  on 
each  side  there  was  a  bunch  of  feathers,  which  was  tucked  under  the  skin 
in  wrapping  up  the  shield. 

Tattooed-face  was  said  to  own  a  shield  painted  all  over  with  a  light 
red  color  and  with  a  decoration  resembhng  a  buffalo's  guts.  The  owner's 
horse  was  never  shot  in  battle. 

Grandmother's-knife  told  me  of  a  shield  owned  by  a  chief  named 
Rotten-belly  (era-piidc).  A  man  named  Hanging-foot  had  separated 
from  the  main  camp  and  he  and  all  his  male  followers  were  killed  by  the 
Cheyenne,  who  captured  the  women  and  children.^    Some  of  the  captives 

>Cf.  this  volume,  185. 


408         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

escaped  to  the  main  camp  and  offered  the  pipe  to  the  two  chiefs,  Red- 
plume-on-the-forehead  and  Rotten-belty,  in  order  to  have  them  under- 
take an  expedition  to  revenge  the  death  of  their  kinsfolk.  Rotten-belly 
smoked  the  pipe  and  bade  the  young  men  get  ready.  The  military 
societies  got  together  and  danced  in  the  afternoon.  Rotten-belly  asked 
the  warriors  to  get  ready  early  in  the  morning  and  saddle  their  horses. 
They  did  so  and  proceeded  to  the  top  of  a  hill.  There  he  ordered  them  to 
dismount  and  gather  buffalo  chips,  which  were  then  piled  up.  The  sun 
had  just  risen.  Rotten-belly  said,  'Til  sing  and  walk  upon  this  pile  of 
chips  and  it  will  stay  exactly  as  it  is.  When  I  get  up  on  top  of  the  chips, 
I'll  sing  again.  Then  Til  loll  my  shield,  and  if  the  painted  side  falls  next 
to  the  ground,  we'll  turn  l)ack.  If  the  other  side  falls  to  the  ground,  you 
must  all  cheer.''  The  picture  on  the  shield  was  that  of  a  man  in  black 
with  his  ears  cUsproportionately  large.  Rotten-belly  sang  and  walked 
up  the  pile  of  chips  with  his  shield  in  his  hands.  He  made  the  painted 
side  face  toward  the  sun  and  began  to  sing.  When  done,  he  threw  the 
shield,  which  rolled  away  and  fell  with  the  painted  side  up.  All  the  men 
cheeied.  He  descended  from  the  pile,  picked  up  the  shield  and  sang  a 
praise  song.  He  said,  "Don't  kill  any  birds  on  this  trip."  They  set  out. 
Young  birds  began  to  fly  and  one  flew  over  a  woman.  She  struck  it  with 
her  hand  and  it  fell  to  the  ground;  she  picked  it  up,  but  it  died.  They 
reached  the  enemy's  camp  and  attacked  them,  kilUng  many  of  the  enemy. 
Only  one  Crow  was  killed, — a  brother  of  the  woman  who  struck  the  bird. 
The  shield  was  noted  for  its  medicine  power  and  was  in  constant  use  until 
reservation  times.    It  ought  to  be  at  Pryor. 

In  1910  I  was  approached  by  Yellow-brow,  who  offered  to  drive  me 
to  his  house  and  sell  some  valuable  specimens.  I  accompanied  him  and 
found  that  he  and  his  father  Magpie  really  had  a  veiitable  treasure-trove 
of  ethnographically  interesting  material.  I  noticed  a  shield  and  wanted 
to  see  it,  but  Yellow-hrow  at  first  refused  to  unwrap  it,  saying  that  he 
had  no  desire  to  sell  it.  After  I  had  bought  a  number  of  medicine  ob- 
jects, he  relented  in  response  to  my  importunity  so  far  as  to  uncover  it, 
still  insisting  that  he  would  not  sell  it.  When  I  saw  the  shield,  I  made 
him  an  offer  and  after  considerable  parleying  he  agreed  to  sell  it  for  $  75. 
In  driving  me  back  with  my  acquisitions.  Yellow-brow  handed  the 
shield  to  his  father,  who  clasped  it  in  his  arms  and  with  great  display  of 
emotion  recited  a  prayer  to  it.  My  interpreter,  Jim  Carpenter,  told  me 
that  if  any  accident  should  befall  the  seller,  the  Indians  would  asciibe 
it  to  his  seUing  the  shield.  The  shield  (Fig.  3)  has  a  buckskin  cover 
decorated  with  two  vertical  zigzag  lines,  one  on  each  side ;  to  the  center 


1922. 


Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  -409 


is  attached  a  whistle  and  on  each  side  of  it  a  3'ellow  bird.  Several  years 
after  the  purchase  a  favorable  opportunity  presented  itself  for  inter- 
vicwino;  Yellow-brow  as  to  the  history  of  the  shield  and  his  narrative 
follows;  unfortunately  it  does  not  explain  the  ornamejitation. 

The  Tale  of  Magpie's  Shield.  Dries-his-fur  was  leader  of  a  war 
party.  Humped-wolf ,  then  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  accompanied 
them.  When  they  had  gone  a  great  distance,  they  were  attacked  by  the 
enemy,  who  drove  them  out  of  their  trenches  and  killed  many  of  the 
Crow  in  the  night.  Humped-wolf  was  shot  through  the  legs  above  his 
knees,  but  still  went  along  with  the  survivors.  That  night  he  ran  off. 
He  had  no  clothes  and  it  was  snowing;  he  thought  he  was  going  to  die. 
Then  he  came  to  a  big  black  object, — a  dead  buffalo.  When  he  touched 
it,  it  was  not  dry.  He  went  inside,  where  it  was  warm.  He  stayed  there  for 
a  while  and  was  just  about  to  go  to  sleep,  when  the  buffalo  snorted.  He 
did  not  know  what  it  was  and  was  afraid.  He  heard  something  coming. 
Someone  called  him,  "Full-inouth-l)uffalo-  ((.s1pkaricti-f>ric),  come." 
He  did  not  know  who  it  was  but  there  was  daylight  and  he  rose  and  went 
towards  the  sound.  "What  are  you  woriying  about?"  "I  was  shot  by  the 
Dakota,  that  is  why  I  am  worrying."  The  visitant  opened  his  mouth. 
"You  shall  be  the  same  as  myself."  He  had  no  teeth.  "You  cannot  die 
until  then  (when  you  have  no  more  teeth).  That  is  the  first  thing  I  will 
give  you.  Face  towards  the  east  and  look!"  It  was  a  buffalo  bull  with 
anotlicr  behind  him;  the  first  changed  into  a  man,  the  second  into  a  bay 
hoise.  Ihunped-wolf  noticed  what  the  buffalo-man  was  wearing. 
He  wore  a  horned  bonnet  with  a  short  streamer  decorated  witli  (>agle 
feathers,  a  calfskin  shirt  with  the  hair  on  it,  sleeve-holders  of  buffalo 
tail,  a  necklace  of  l)uffalo  horns  between  dewclaws.  In  his  hand  he  held 
a  buffalo  tail  mounted  on  a  pointed  stick  and  he  was  carrying  the  shield 
I  gave  you  (K.  H.  L.)  He  was  painted  white  from  his  nose  downward 
and  all  over  his  body.  His  horse  was  also  painted  white  below  the  eyes, 
from  the  knees  down,  and  about  the  middle  of  his  tail;  a  plume  was  tied 
to  the  horse's  forehead.  This  man  came  up  to  Humped-wolf  and  said, 
"I  have  made  you  go  on  the  warpath  and  come  where  you  were  and  go 
inside  the  buffalo.  Look  towards  the  place  where  you  came  from." 
When  he  looked,  he  saw  men  lined  up  behind  him  and  all  dressed  like  the 
l)uffalo-man.  There  were  also  dead  people  lying  all  about  with  guns, 
bows,  and  tomahawks.  "Look  to  the  west."  There,  too,  he  saw  dead 
people  with  guns  and  bows.  The  buffalo-man  spoke  to  Full-mouth- 
buffalo  (this  being  thenceforth  Humped-wolf 's  name)  as  follows:  "Other 
medicines  (l(»  not  last.    Give  this  to  vour  children  and  grandchildren  and 


410         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

SO  on  till  there  shall  be  no  more  fighting.  I  have  given  you  this  medicine. 
That  plume  is  the  body  of  your  horse  (meaning  that  it  could  not  be 
shot) .  When  a  person  is  shot,  he  is  considered  a  man.  I  have  placed  you 
among  the  Crow.  Henceforth  you  shall  not  be  driven  back  by  the  enemy. 
I  have  given  you  everything  that  makes  a  man.  This  is  all.  Give  the 
medicine  only  to  your  brothers  (dakupe)  and  your  children  {darake).'" 

After  his  vision  Humped-wolf  went  homeward.  It  was  still  snowing 
but  he  no  longer  suffered  from  the  cold.  About  dayhght  he  saw  a  person 
coming  up  in  front  of  him.  He^  told  Humped-wolf  that  he  had  forgotten 
something  and  began  to  sing.  Hmnped-wolf  saw  another  person  coming, 
whom  he  recognized  as  a  Dakota.  The  first  man  sang  against  the 
Dakota,  who  was  armed  with  bow  and  arrow,  a  knife,  and  a  tomahawk 
at  his  belt.  When  he  had  done  singing,  he  went  towards  the  Dakota  and 
held  his  shield  in  front  of  him.  The  Dakota  was  ready  to  shoot  his  arrows 
and  let  one  fly.  It  struck  the  shield,  broke,  and  fell  to  the  ground.  He 
dropped  his  bow  and  arrows,  took  his  tomahawk,  came  up  to  the  Crow, 
and  struck  at  the  edge  of  the  shield.  His  tomahawk  broke.  He  took  out 
his  knife.  The  shield-bearer  stepped  back,  then  started  towards  him 
again.  When  the  Dakota  made  a  motion  as  if  to  stab  him,  he  threw  the 
shield  in  front  of  him,  and  the  knife  touching  the  shield  was  broken. 
Then  the  Crow  jumped  aside,  stabbed  the  enemy's  breast  with  a  lance, 
and  killed  him.  Then  Hmnped-wolf  looked  and  saw  that  it  was  a 
coyote.    "You  shall  be  the  same,"  said  the  visitant. 

Humped-wolf  went  toward  his  camp.  The  rest  of  the  survivors 
of  his  war  party  had  returned  to  camp  and  told  the  Crow  that  Humped- 
wolf  had  been  shot  in  the  leg  and  left  behind.  The  people  mourned  for 
him.  When  he  arrived,  he  summoned  all  the  older  men  to  his  tipi  and 
told  them  his  vision.  He  described  it  and  told  them  he  liked  it.  "Make 
it,"  they  said.  One  of  them  asked,  "Have  you  any  songs  (dicu-wici)V' 
"Yes."    "Sing."    He  sang  the  following : — 

bap"  hiri  at  bicit,  bik'  barawarawik'.  aruut 

Whenever         there  is  any  trouble,  I  shall  not  die  but  get  through.  Arrows 

ahii'ta,  bowik".  barase       batsek'. 

many  though  there  be,      I  shall  arrive.        My  heart      is  manly. 

The  man  who  asked  for  the  songs  had  no  faith  in  Humped-wolf 's  vision 
and  said,  "You  had  better  look  for  safety." 

Humped-wolf  made  what  he  had  seen.  Riding  a  dark  bay  horse,  he 
accompanied  a  war  party.  On  the  day  they  set  out  from  camp  the 
enemy  attacked  them.    Making  the  rest  of  the  company  lie  in  a  coulee, 

'This  is  the  visitant. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Croiv.  411 

he  alone  fought  the  enemy  and  killed  several  of  them.  He  was  shot  by 
the  enemy,  so  were  some  of  those  who  hid.  The  Dakota  ceased  fighting 
and  thus  spoke  to  Humped- wolf :  "Go  home,  you  are  no  good,  have  your 
will  of  the  women  and  rejoice."  They  meant  that  he  was  a  man.  They 
did  not  pursue  the  Crow,  who  came  back  with  none  of  them  slain.  Some 
of  the  enemy  had  been  killed  and  scalped.  Then  the  Crow  liked  this 
man  and  the  whole  camp  knew  about  him.  Whenever  he  went  with  a 
war  party,  the  enemy  always  attacked  them.  He  always  fought  alone 
and  was  always  shot,  but  sometimes  some  of  the  party  were  killed  in- 
cidentally. When  the  Crow  discovered  that  parties  he  accompanied 
were  attacked  by  the  enenw,  captains  did  not  like  him  to  go  along.  They 
recollected  his  song  and  said,  ''He  was  to  fight,  he  is  always  giving 
trouble." 

A  man  was  setting  out  as  captain  for  the  first  time.  He  had  many 
brothers;  they  were  not  good  people  but  were  always  looking  for  a  fight. 
When  Humped- wolf  tried  to  accompany  them  as  before,  they  turned  back, 
saying  he  was  no  good.  When  the}^  had  been  out  four  days,  he  overtook 
them,  thinking  they  would  not  turn  back  after  having  traveled  for  four 
days.  They  said,  "What  are  you  coming  for?  You  are  no  good.  We 
are  not  very  good  captains,  we  are  just  going  to  try.  Turn  back,  or  we 
shall  beat  you.  We  give  you  only  this  choice :  turn  back,  or  if  you  don't 
we  shall  beat  you."  They  went  on.  He  asked  them  to  beat  him  once 
and  he  would  go  with  them.  All  surrounded  him  and  beat  him  till  one 
of  the  party  who  was  not  a  brother  of  the  captain  asked  them  to  desist. 
Humped- wolf  was  covered  with  blood.  He  rose  to  a  sitting  posture  and 
said,  "If  you  achieve  something  good,  I'll  be  in  it;  if  you  are  all-killed, 
I  too  shall  be  killed."  They  bade  him  turn  back  lest  they  kill  him  and 
went  on. 

Humped-wolf  sat  there,  thinking  of  the  man  who  had  adopted  him, 
though  his  medicine  was  worthless,  and  cried,  "If  it  had  not  been  for 
my  medicine,  I  should  have  gone  with  the  party."  After  they  were  all 
out  of  sight,  he  considered  whether  to  turn  back  or  follow  the  party,  not 
knowing  what  to  do.  While  he  was  sitting  there  crying,  he  heard  hooting 
and  whooping  and  someone  was  saying,  "Humped-wolf  is  nearby." 
The  party  ran  towards  him  and  said,  "The  enemy  came  and  drove  us 
back."'  He  said,  "You  did  not  like  me.  I  could  have  joined  the  enemy, 
but  because  I  am  a  Crow  I  did  not  do  it."  He  put  up  his  blanket  in  a 
heap  and  ran  around.  He  bade  the  war  party  get  behind  him.  The 
enemy  surrounded  him.  They  fought  from  early  in  the  morning  till 
sunset.    He  made  gestures  to  the  Dakota.     "Bring  me  some  water;  I 


412         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

am  very  thirsty.  If  you  don't  do  it,  I'll  go  for  water  myseK  and  follow 
you  to  your  main  camp,  fighting  you  all  summer  until  winter."  The 
Dakota  brought  some  water  and  left  it  at  a  distance  for  him  to  take  it. 
They  told  him  to  go  home,  that  he  was  no  good  and  should  have  his  will 
of  women.  "Quam  maxuiie  penem  insere,"  aiunt.  They  returned  to 
the  rest  of  the  party,  who  had  hidden  in  a  coulee.  They  now  hked  him 
and  treated  him  well.  He  was  shot  all  over  and  was  not  f eeUng  very  well ; 
some  of  his  teeth  had  been  knocked  out.  They  got  to  a  river  on  the  way 
home.  His  wounds  smarted.  The  captain  asked,  "Why  did  you  turn 
back?"  "My  leg  smarts,  that  is  why."  The  captain  told  the  warriors 
to  carry  him  across  the  water.  He  refused  to  be  carried.  "We'll  do  it 
nevertheless."  He  remembered  the  time  they  had  beaten  him  and  asked 
the  captain,  "How  many  times  did  you  strike  me?"  "I  did  not  count, 
but  it  was  man}^  times."  "About  how  many?"  "About  ten  times." 
There  were  large  stones  in  the  creek  and  the  water  was  flowing  very 
swiftly.  He  asked  the  captain  to  carry  him  across,  and  the  captain  alone 
lifted  him  on  his  back.  When  he  got  to  the  middle  of  the  creek,  the  water 
was  almost  up  to  his  waist.  He  slipped  on  a  stone,  fell,  and  both  floated 
downstream.  There  was  a  whirlpool  just  below  and  they  could  not  get 
out,  but  the  captain  was  pulled  out  by  his  brothers;  they  left  Humped- 
wolf  in  there  and  proceeded  homeward.  He  had  been  shot  in  the  arms, 
so  he  could  not  swim  but  climbed  a  log  and  floated  on  it  till  night, 
crying  continually.  About  dawn  he  saw  a  black  object  approaching.  He 
wished  it  Avere  an  enemy  coming  to  kill  him.  It  was  singing  medicine 
songs.  It  said,  "Child,  I  am  coming  to  see  you,  we'll  do  it  again."  It 
was  the  man  he  had  seen  coming  from  the  east  in  his  vision.  "I  made  a 
mistake,"  said  the  visitant.  "I  asked  you  before  why  you  were  grieving; 
you  answered  that  you  had  been  chased  and  shot  by  the  enemy.  That  is 
what  I  have  given  you,  that  they  should  never  chase  you.  The  Dakota 
have  bidden  you  go  home  and  have  your  will  of  the  women,  they  always 
bade  you  go  to  camp.  Henceforth  give  no  help  to  war  parties,  help  the 
camp.  The  Dakota  and  Cheyenne  have  driven  you  away  and  captured 
your  people."  He  was  still  floating  on  the  log.  "Get  up,  come."  He 
thought  to  himself,  "How  can  I  rise  and  walk?"  "Get  up  and  come." 
He  made  an  effort  to  rise  and  the  water  was  hard,  so  he  stood  up.  He 
walked  on  it  and  got  to  this  man.  He  told  him  to  go  home.  "Make  this 
medicine  for  your  children  and  brothers,  your  having  it  alone  is  bad." 
Humped-wolf  proceeded  without  pains  of  any  sort.  The  rest  of  the  party 
had  returned  and  reported  him  drowned.  The  people  had  been  mourning 
for  him.    Henceforth  he  stayed  in  camp.    He  must  have  been  about  forty 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  oj  the  Crow.  413 

years  of  age  then  and  had  owned  the.  medicine  for  a  long  time  and 
achieved  great  deeds.  This  was  about  173  or  174  years  ago  {sic\)  The 
people  were  staying  between  Powder  River  and  the  site  of  Colmnbus, 
Montana. 

Humped-wolf  had  three  sons,  and  his  two  sisters  had  two  sons  each. 
Early  one  morning  he  told  his  wife  to  take  everything  out  of  his  tipi. 
He  sent  for  his  four  nephews  (itsuke,  younger  brothers  or  a  man's  sister's 
sons^),  who  sat  down  beside  him,  while  his  three  sons  were  on  the  opposite 
side.  To  the  one  next  to  him  Humped-wolf  said,  "I'll  give  you  a  name,— 
White-young-buffalo  (t^lpkaricta-tsidc)."  To  the  next  one  he  said,  'T\\ 
name  you  Full-mouth-buffalo.''  To  the  third  he  said,  "I'll  call  you  Bull- 
always-living  (tsirup-daicic)."  To  the  fourth  he  said,  "I'll  call  you 
"Buffalo-walks-to-the-river."  Of  his  sons  he  named  the  first  Colored- 
fur,  referring  to  the  yellowish  or  reddish  color  some  calves  are  born  with; 
the  second,  Buffalo-with-high-withers ;  the  third.  Small-backed-bull. 
He  asked  them  all  whether  they  were  satisfied  with  their  names  and  they 
said,  "Yes."  "Don't  go  out  on  war  parties.  The  rest  of  the  Crow  are 
men;  they  can  go  out  and  look  out  for  themselves.  Look  after  the 
children  and  women  in  camp.  The  camp  has  been  attacked,  and  women 
and  children  have  been  captured  ])y  the  enemy.  Wlien  you  are  there, 
this  will  happen  no  more."  Then  he  told  them  all  about  his  medicine 
and  told  them  to  go  out  and  seek  some  medicine  of  their  own. 

They  went  out.  The  first  nephew  was  looking  for  something  on  a 
hill  at  the  junction  of  the  Rotten  Grass  and  the  Bighorn.  He  did  not  get 
what  his  uncle  had  wanted.  He  reported  as  follows :  "A  jack-rabbit  came 
to  me  and  told  me  not  to  take  the  medicine  because  you  have  always 
been  shot.  He  said  to  me,  "You  shall  be  a  chief  without  trouble;  old 
people  are  i:)oor;  you  shall  grow  up  and  die  without  trouble  or  sorrow." 
Humped-wolf  replied,  "You  have  erred.  A  person  wants  to  get  enough  of 
life.  I  will  not  make  this  medicine  for  you."  The  second  nephew  re- 
ported: "I  did  not  get  anything.  While  I  was  seeking  medicine,  a  bob- 
cat and  two  different  kinds  of  hawk  came  to  me.  They  said,  'The  animal 
that  gave  him  the  medicine  is  heavj^  we  are  more  powerful,  don't  take  its 
medicine.  You  will  be  liked  by  all  the  Crow  and  shall  die  without  trouble 
or  sorrow.  Old  age  is  bad,  old  people  have  no  teeth  or  eyes.'  I  do  not 
want  your  medicine."  Humped-wolf  answered,  "Not  all  the  people  on 
this  earth  desire  to  die  forthwith."  The  third  nephew  reported  as  fol- 
lows:    "While  I  was  seeking  a  vision,  a  hawk  came  to  me  on  a  cliff  and 


iLowie,  this  series,  vol.  21,  60. 


414         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  N'alural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

said,  'I'll  make  3'OU  help  your  people.  The  owner  of  the  medicine  you 
are  about  to  take  has  always  been  shot.  Old  age  is  not  good.  He  has  had 
to  suffer  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  When  you  are  shot,  your  body  shall  not 
be  penetrated.  You  shall  do  whatever  you  please  in  battle.' "  Humped- 
wolf  spoke  to  his  three  nephews  thus:  "I  wanted  to  live  with  you  a  long 
time,  but  you  will  not." 

The  fourth  nephew,  Full-mouth-buffalo,  said  that  he  had  brought 
the  medicine:  "I  am  like  (?)  the  rest  of  these,  but'have  a  different  way. 
I  don't  know  what  it  is,  but  I  saw  a  vision  and  was  told  to  fight.  It  was 
the  sacred  Tobacco  (i'tsi'tsid).  On  the  return  trip  I  was  caught  by  a  bear. 
He  lifted  me  up  so  that  I  could  see  all  the  earth.  He  made  me  touch  his 
teeth;  he  had  none  at  all.  'You  may  jump  among  high  cliffs  or  do  what 
you  please,'  said  he,  'you  cannot  die.  When  you  have  no  more  teeth  and 
all  3'our  hair  is  white,  you  shall  fall  asleep  without  awaking.  You'll 
have  a  good  death,  so  don't  be  afraid  of  anything.  When  we  are  in 
trouble,  that  is  what  makes  men  of  us.' "  Humped-wolf  replied:  "You 
have  done  well.  Those  three  are  like  the  plants.  They  will  grow  up  a 
while  and  then  wdther.  Had  I  been  in  their  place,  I  should  have  taken 
the  medicine  you  obtained  and  also  the  one  I  am  about  to  give  you." 
His  three  sons  all  brought  what  he  had  asked  them  to  bring.  He  made 
the  medicine  for  them.  The  first  three  nephews  did  not  get  either  Full- 
mouth's  or  Humped-wolf 's  medicine,  but  only  what  they  had  themselves 
seen. 

When  Humped-wolf  had  made  the  medicine  for  his  three  sons  and 
the  last  of  his  nephews,  he  bade  them  sit  down.  The  camp  had  separated 
into  distinct  bands  in  the  wintertime.  He  said,  "When  the  whole  camp  is 
engaged  in  a  fight,  help  the  tribe  and  keep  the  enemy  from  taking  cap- 
tives." "Yes,  we'll  do  this."  "I  am  slow  (ahdkdtdk),  I  am  heavy;  no 
matter  what  happens,  I  have  no  place  to  run  to.  When  you  wish  to  flee, 
remember  this  and  you'll  remain  strong  and  brave."  "Yes,"  they 
answered.  "When  all  the  people  are  hungry  and  you  bring  buffalo,  give 
meat  to  the  poor.  Look  out  and  scout  for  the  camp,  look  for  buffalo, 
move  the  camp  to  where  there  are  buffalo.  Ti-eat  your  people  well,  die 
for  them.  Be  men  for  your  people,  don't  fight  with  them.  If  they  dis- 
pute with  you,  don't  mind  it,  treat  them  well.  If  they  strike  you,  do 
not  hit  them  back.    Have  you  heard  what  I  said?"    "Yes." 

One  of  the  bands  that  had  separated  was  ahnost  completely  de- 
stroyed by  the  enemy.  All  the  Crow  got  together  in  a  camp  circle. 
Full-mouth's  father  had  two  wives,  and  each  of  thefn  had  a  son  with  a 
month's  difference  in  their  ages.    These  boys  had  grown  up  and  loved 


1922. 


Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  415 


each  other.  Thus  there  was  an  eighth  man  to  go  out.  This  brother  of 
Full-mouth  was  called  Wants-to-die  (dee),  though  his  real  name  was 
Owl-head.  Full-mouth  had  a  horse  nicknamed  Face-on-both-sides, 
which  name  was  subsequently  transferred  to  himself.  Bull-always- 
hving  frequently  changed  the  painting  on  his  face,  for  which  reason  he 
was  called  Plays- with-his-f ace.  Buffalo-walks-to-the-river,  while  look- 
ing for  some  woman,  passed  a  bevy  and  looked  for  a  woman  where  there 
were  none;  hence  he  was  called  Passes-the-woman. 

The  enemy  had  killed  a  man  and  his  child;  the  mother  was  alive. 
Wants-to-die  and  Face-on-both-sides  were  camping  in  the  middle  of  the 
circle.  The  Crow  liked  these  two,  knowing  that  they  could  get  help 
from  them;  that  is.  why  they  were  camped  in  the  center.  The  mourning 
woman  went  round  the  camp  crying  and  saying,  "The  Dakota  have 
killed  my  husband  and  child,  who  is  going  to  kill  one  of  them  for  me?" 
After  a  while  she  got  to  the  two  central  lodges  and  walked  round  them. 
"Who  is  going  to  kill  a  Dakota  for  me?  If  no  one  will  kill  one,  Fll  be 
miserable."  She  went  to  Face-on-both-sides'  lodge,  saying,  "You  have  a 
body  and  you  are  still  here.  I  wish  you  would  kill  a  Dakota  for  me,  no 
one  else  can  kill  one,  you  are  the  only  one  who  can  do  it."  She  went  and 
pressed  his  head,  as  was  the  custom  then.  His  father  said,  "You  have 
done  wrong,  you  are  going  to  make  my  son  die.  You  ought  to  have  stayed 
outside  waiUng."  She  went  outside.  Face-on-both-sides  said  to  his 
father,  "Don't  worry.  I  shall  not  die  during  your  lifetime.  I'll  die  as  a 
very  old  man,  don't  worry  about  me."  He  called  Wants-to-die,  who  was 
in  the  next  tent.  "At  this  very  moment  we  have  a  good  thing.  There  are 
plenty  of  men  but  she  has  come  to  us,  and  it  is  well.  Bring  six  others, 
bring  the  old  man  (Humped-wolf)  also."  The  old  woman  prepared  good 
food  for  the  visitors.  "Why  have  you  sent  for  us?"  asked  the  old  man. 
"You  told  us  not  to  go  on  war  parties,  but  a  woman  has  asked  us  to  kill 
one  of  the  Dakota.  Will  you  let  us  go?"  "How  are  you  going  to  kill 
Dakota  without  going  anywhere?  I  told  you  to  help  the  children  and 
women.  A  child  has  been  killed,  a  woman  has  asked  you  for  help,  that  is 
why  I  want  you  to  help."  The  Dakota  camp  was  close,  and  it  was  large. 
Of  the  other  tribes  they  were  not  afraid.  Face-on-both-sides  said  to 
Humped-wolf,  "We'll  start  this  evening,  I'll  go  with  you."  It  was  in 
the  morning.  "Go  home  now  and  get  your  horses,  we'll  go  with  any- 
one who  wants  to  join.  Go  out  and  herald  that  we  are  going  to  sing 
(actd-wawardxbok')."^      The    old    man    heralded.      Face-on-both-sides 


'A  special  kind  of  singing  is  referred  to. 


416        Anthropological  Papers  American  Mtiseum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

was  very  anxious,  he  did  not  eat.  He  sent  for  the  old  man,  who  entered 
his  tipi.  "What  is  the  matter,  Face-on-both-sides?"  "I  feel  like  crying, 
yet  I  also  feel  Hke  singing  Big  Dog  and  medicine  songs."  "Your  medicine 
is  anxious  too,  that  is  why."  "Paint  me  up."  He  did  so,  also  painting 
his  horse.  Face-on-both-sides  used  all  the  medicine  he  had  as  he  was 
riding  his  horse.  He  cried,  "A  woman  and  children,  who  are  timid, 
have  been  killed  by  the  Dakota,  who  have  captured  some.  They  alone 
want  to  be  men;  they  do  not  consider  us,  the  Crow,  men.  Sun,  if  I  die  to- 
day, it  will  be  well.  Whenever  they  have  killed  children  and  women,  I 
always  grieve.  If  I  die  for  my  people,  it  will  be -well."  He  went  round 
the  circle  and  returned  to  his  own  tipi.  Everyone  cried  as  he  went  round 
crying.  He  went  round  again,  singing  the  Big  Dog  songs.  The  women 
cheered  him.  He  got  back  to  his  own  tipi,  then  went  round  again,  sing- 
ing the  medicine  songs.  "There  is  only  one  man,  Face-on-both-sides; 
I  am  he.  I  am  among  the  Crow.  There  is  none  among  the  Dakota.  I 
am  your  helper.  Remember  me  when  you  have  a  hard  time.  Tomorrow 
I'll  kill  an  enemy,  from  now  on  I'll  keep  on  kilUng  them."  When  he 
got  back  to  his  tipi,  all  his  brothers  and  the  old  man  were  there.  The  old 
man  said,  "This  is  what  I  have  brought  you  up  for,  for  the  time  when 
the  Crow  tribe  would  come  to  you  for  aid." 

That  night  they  sang  and  then  set  out.  A  great  many  went  along, 
there  must  have  been  about  a  thousand.  They  traveled  on  till  they 
saw  the  Dakota  camp.  They  stayed  there  all  night.  A  Dakota  captive 
escaped  from  the  Crow  to  the  Dakota  camp  and  warned  them,  so  no 
Dakota  ventured  out.  The  following  day  the  old  man  spoke  as  follows : 
"This  is  a  fine  day.  Your  mother  must  have  been  waiting  for  you, 
thinking  you  were  going  to  bring  a  Dakota  scalp.  When  a  woman  gives 
birth,  it  takes  her  a  long  time  and  she  does  not  know  whether  she  will 
live  or  not.  You  have  it  easy,  the  camp  is  right  there.  Mount  your 
horses  and  go,  there  is  nothing  to  hold  you  back.  When  you  get  thei'e, 
you  will  either  be  killed  or  will  kill  an  enem}^  Let  me  know  how  your 
heart  is  (what  you  think)."  Face-on-both-sides  rose  and  said:  "My 
people,  I  am  going  to  speak.  Listen  to  me.  Now  you  are  miserable,  you 
are  weak.  Go  home  and  wait  for  me  on  a  high  hill  this  side  of  the  Crow 
camp.  When  you  have  been  gone  a  long  time,  then  I'll  kill  an  enemy; 
otherwise  the  enemy  might  overtake  you  too."  They  did  what  he  told 
them  to  do.  Then  he  spoke  to  the  old  man:  "Where  are  your  nephews 
and  your  sons  today?  To  all  of  us  you  spoke,  where  are  the  rest?  Have 
they  heard  or  not?  You  ought  to  have  spoken  to  me  alone  that  time, 
there  was  no  use  speaking  to  the  others.     This  is  all."     Wants-to-die 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  oj  the  Crow.  417 

said,  "I  am  going  to  speak;  listen.  I  heard  what  this  old  man  said  when 
he  spoke  to  his  nephews  and  sons.  He  wanted  to  make  men  of  his 
nephews  and  sons.  I  am  going  to  excel  them.  Let  us  all  mount  our 
horses.  When  I  am  old,  I  shall  die.  I  will  die  at  any  time ;  I  want  to  find 
out  how  it  is.  It  is  hke  going  up  over  a  divide."  He  sang  this  song: — 
bak'6tsi"te      awdxe  awcrak;  baxaria        kawa+uk'.     batsirireta. 

Eternal  (are)      the  heavens       and  the  earth;      old  people       are  bad. '  Do  not  be  afraid. 

All  mounted  their  horses.  One  man  named  Tears-the-tipi  said, 
"They  are  not  the  only  men,  I  am  a  man  too,  I'll  be  the  one  to  kill  an 
enemy."  The  old  man  answered,  "Thanks,  you  are  doing  well.  I  was 
wishing  that  some  of  the  other  men  might  help  my  nephews  and  sons. 
You  have  done  it  and  I  want  you  to  keep  it  up."  All,  including  this  man, 
stood  in  hne  and  Humpcd-wolf  behind.  The  bulk  of  the  people  had 
departed  long  ago.  The  old  man  said,  'Tull-mouth,!  what  you  have 
shown  me  I  will  do  toda3^  Wherever  you  are,  you  will  know.  Give 
your  power  to  Face-on-both-sides,  I  want  him  to  get  through  in  safety. 
I  will  go,  I  am  old  and  shall  be  tired."  Then  he  left  them.  They  bade 
him  go  fastei-;  they  were  going  to  kill  the  enem^^  when  he  had  gone  far 
away. 

When  he  had  departed.  Young-white-buffalo  proposed  a  plan. 
"When  we  kill,  do  not  take  a  scalp.  They  won't  believe  us,  they'll 
think  we  did  not  kill  anj'one  if  they  see  no  scalp.  The  one  who  scalps 
shall  be  the  first  to  strike.  If  we  only  strike  the  Dakota,  we  shall  not 
have  it."-  "All  right,"  they  said,  "you  have  a  good  plan."  They 
mounted  and  set  out  towards  the  camp.  There  weie  nine  of  them.  A 
coulee  extended  to  the  camp.  They  proceeded  without  halting  till 
Tears-the-tipi  bade  them  stop.  "I  thought  j^ou  were  going  to  kill.  If 
you  act  as  now,  they  will  chase  you  and  kill  you  all.  I  don't  want  to  be 
in  it."  "We'll  go  right  into  the  camp."  Tears-the-tipi  said  he  would 
turn  back.  "You  may  go."  He  turned  and  went.  Near  the  camp  he 
halted  r-nd  sang  his  medicine  song.  The  coulee  ran  through  the  camp. 
They  went  right  up  to  the  edge  of  the  camp.  There  on  top  of  the  bank  a 
woman  was  dressing  a  hide.  Face-on-both-sides  said,  "No  one  has 
left  the  camp,  so  we'll  kill  that  one."  Plays- with-his-f ace  said,  "You  are 
no  persons,  I'll  be  the  one  to  scalp."  Passes-the-woman  answered,  "You 
are  not  of  much  account,  I'll  be  the  one  to  scalp."  Face-on-both-sides 
said,  "Thank  you.  I  thought  I  should  be  the  one  to  scalp,  I  did  not  know 
you  two  were."    When  300  yards  mthin  camp,  they  saw  a  man  coming 

'This  refers  to  his  visitant. 

^This  paragraph  is  obscurely  worded. 


418         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

out  wearing  a  blanket.  They  said,  ''There  is  a  man  coming,  we'll  kill 
him."  He  went  some  distance  to  ease  himself.  The  eight  men  ran 
towards  him.  He  rose  and  started  back  to  camp  without  cleaning  him- 
seK.  At  the  door  of  his  tipi  they  were  upon  him,  but  instead  of  entering 
he  went  toward  the  center  of  the  circle.  They  shot  and  killed  him  and 
fell  upon  him.  The  Dakota  had  been  expecting  the  Crow  and  were 
ah'eady  shooting  "at  them.  Plays-with-his-face  scalped  the  man,  his 
companions  ran  away,  and  his  horse  with  them.  Thus  he  was  left  all 
alone  in  the  camp  circle.  Everything  looked  high  to  him,  and  it  seemed 
to  him  as  though  he  were  standing  in  a  hollow.  He  did  not  know  whether 
he  was  walking  or  running,  but  followed  in  the  direction  of  his  friends. 
The  fugitives  saw  his  horse  and  looking  back  saw  him  alone  in  the 
center  of  the  hostile  camp  with  the  enemy  surrounding  hun  and  shooting 
at  him. 

Wants-to-die  caught  Plays-with-his-face's  horse  and  took  it  to  huu. 
He  passed  him  and  threw  him  the  reins  so  that  they  hung  over  his 
shoulder.  All  this  time  the  enemy  were  shooting  at  him.  He  seized  the 
reins  and  jumped  on  the  horse.  They  ran  through  the  camp.  The 
Dakota  were  in  pursuit.  When  they  got  out  of  the  camp  they  turned 
and  drove  the  enemy  back,  then  they  ran  back.  There  were  two  parallel 
coulees.  They  ran  along  one,  then  turned  off  to  the  other  and  went  in  the 
reverse  direction,  so  that  the  enemy  were  going  the  opposite  way.  The 
Crow  said,  "They  have  killed  a  child,  so  we'll  kill  one  of  their  children." 
"All  right."  They  ran  into  camp.  A  boy  was  running  from  one  lodge  to 
another.  Wants-to-die  struck  him  in  the  temple  with  an  ax  and  Plays- 
with-his-face  dismounted  and  scalped  him;  then  they  fled.  They  gal- 
loped till  night.  Wlien  they  returned  to  the  rest  of  their  party,  these  said, 
"We  thought  you  had  been  killed  by  this  time  and  were  going  to  mourn." 
The  old  man  rejoiced  and  sang  praise  songs.  The  next  morning  they 
returned  to  the  Crow  camp. 

Thereafter  the  Crow  were  never  driven  back  by  the  Dakota,  since 
that  medicine  was  with  them,  but  they  repelled  the  Dakota.  These  men 
each  had  one  shield  of  the  same  kind,  but  those  who  had  visions  of  their 
own  dressed  a  Uttle  differently. 

Various  Medicine  Objects. 
Though  sacred  objects  were  almost  uniformly  derived  from  revela- 
tions ultimately,  many  individuals  owned  medicines  which  they  had 
merely  bought  from  the  original  visionary  or  even  second-hand  from 
another  purchaser.    When  a  person  saw  another  man  prospering  on  the 


1922. 


Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow. 


419 


acquisition  of  some  medicine,  he  would  be  tempted  to  acquire  the 
medicine  also  in  order  to  share  the  owner's  success.  In  such  cases  the 
visionary  made  copies  for  the  buyers  to  the  number  of  four;  with  the 
fourth  replica  he  lost  his  property  rights.  Below  I  enumerate  a  miscel- 
lany of  medicines  concerning  some  of  which  no  detailed  information  was 
obtained,  but  which  serve  to  suggest  the  total  range  of  relevant  ideas. 

In  1910  I  bought  a  'big  weasel'  {u'te 
isdte)  medicine  from  a  Pryor  Indian.  It 
consisted  of  a  weaselskin  stuffed  with 
buffalo  hair  (Fig.  7).  The  seller  told  me 
that  it  had  once  been  owned  by  a  famous 
warrior,  who  would  unwrap  it  when  on  an 
expedition,  smoke  it  with  incense,  and 
hold  it  toward  the  hostile  camp. 

Some  men  tied  both  ears  and  the  tail 
of  a  jack-rabbit  to  the  back  of  their  head 
when  going  to  fight  and  also  put  green 
paint  on  their  face  from  the  lower  lip 
down  to  the  chin.  Charges-camp  had 
nothing  to  tie  to  his  l>ody  in  battle,  but 
regarded  the  dog  as  his  medicine  and 
would  sing  dog  songs  when  fighting. 
Lone-pine  had  a  stuffed  white-headed 
eagle  for  his  war  medicine;  attached  to 
it  and  worn  round  the  neck  was  a  whistle 
without  a  hole  but  which  the  owner  was 
able  to  blow  in  making  medicine.  Where- 
the-sun-sits  (ax'ace-arawatsic)  used  a 
stuffed  magpie  with  iron  eyes  and  horse- 
hair in  the  beak  to  take  the  lead  in  war.  Another  man,  who  had  had  a 
vision  of  a  gun,  would  smoke  incense  at  the  end  of  the  gun,  point  it  and 
say,  "I  should  hke  you  to  hit  the  enemy  and  break  his  backbone  or 
head."  When  he  struck  an  enemy,  he  would  break  liis  spine.  Dung- 
face  used  a  conmion  stick  for  his  war  medicine  and  was  a  successful 
warrior;  the  stick  was  called  fpace  (marrow-pumper?).  Another 
captain  used  a  7natsapu9te  (birch?)  stick  with  five  or  six  prongs  at  the 
top,  each  tipped  with  magpie  tails  and  decorated  wdth  red  plumes  at  the 
bottom.  UnHke  other  medicines,  this  one  was  never  wrapped  up  but 
kept  exposed. 


Fig.  7  (50.1-3995).     W.ir  Medicine. 


420  Anthropological  Papers  American  Mnseum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

Bull-all-the-time  received  various  medicines  from  an  old  shaman  in- 
cluding a  stuffed  chicken-hawk  (ba-\-Vpuctsh)  and  a  hoop  {mnxe)  wrapped 
with  otterskin  and  decorated  with  eagle  feathers.  My  informant  used 
the  hoop  in  war  with  great  success.  He  accompanied  General  Miles  and 
destroyed  a  whole  Shoshoni  camp,  killed  two  Dakota  on  his  next  venture, 
stole  horses  from  the  Flathead  on  another  occasion,  and  later  recovered 
horses  and  saddles  from  thieving  Dakota,— all  through  the  medicines 
received.  When  he  destroyed  the  enemy's  camp,  Bull-all-the-time  pre- 
sented the  shaman  with  two  horse?;  when  he  came  home  empty-handed, 
he  did  not  give  him  anything. 

Bull-tongue  showed  me  his  war  medicine  consisting  of  one  male  and 
one  female  hawk  (isd'tsise).  He  tied  the  male  to  his  own  head,  and  the 
female  to  some  other  person's  in  battle;  the  wearer  would  take  a  gun 
and  strike  a  coup.  This  medicine  was  made  for  my  informant  by  his 
father-in-law.  Bull-tongue  regards  the  female  as  more  sacred  because 
he  sees  it  in  dreams  showing  him  the  next  winter  or  some  other  season. 
He  does  not  really  see  the  bird  in  his  dreams,  yet  he  feels  that  it  is  the 
female,  not  the  male,  that  shows  him  the  next  season. 

A  visionary  once  made  a  coyote  medicine  for  Gray-bull  and  pro- 
phesied what  he  would  do  against  the  enemy,  e.g.,  "You  will  meet  an 
enemy  in  such  and  such  a  place  and  kill  him,"  or  he  might  describe  the 
kind  of  horse  my  informant  would  capture.  All  his  predictions  came 
true.  Another  medicine  secured  by  my  informant  consisted  of  a  tooth 
from  the  skull  of  White-cub,  the  greatest  of  Crow  shamans,  who  had 
been  killed.  One  of  his  teeth  was  kept  for  medicine  and  Gray-bull  got 
it.  Whenever  he  went  out  with  it.  White-cub  would  always  speak  to 
him  so  that  he  was  afraid  of  it.  He  always  advised  Gray-bull  what  to  do. 
Soon  after  getting  the  tooth,  my  informant  went  on  an  expedition  and 
put  it  over  his  bed.  It  made  a  noise,  saying  several  times,  '4  hey  are 
coming!"  The  other  members  of  the  party  were  terrified  and  ran  into  a 
little  shelter.  They  asked,  "What  is  the  matter?  We  heard  your  medi- 
cine speaking."  Gray-bull  was  the  only  one  who  understood  about  it  and 
said  that  about  dawn  a  man  would  come  close  to  their  resting-place,  he 
did  not  know  whether  a  Crow  or  an  enemy.  At  dawn  a  Dakota  was  seen 
near  by  and  driven  off,  Gray-bull  capturing  his  horse  and  all  his  belong- 
ings. A  number  of  Crow  horses  had  been  stolen  by  Dakota,  and  these 
were  recovered.    Gray-bull  used  his  medicine  on  four  expeditions. 

A  maternal  uncle  of  Gray-bull's  gave  him  a  bird  tail  to  be  tied  to 
his  head  when  fighting;  attached  to  the  tail  was  the  head  of  a  bird  and 
a  piece  of  beaded  buckskin  was  sewed  to  it.    Gray-bull  paid  a  horse 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  421 

and  other  property  for  it.  The  same  kinsman  gave  him  a  necklace  con- 
sisting of  beads  and  bird  claws.  This  was  supposed  to  be  connected 
with  the  Moon,  and  subsequently  Gray-bull  had  a  dream  in  which  the 
Moon  appeared  and  gave  him  a  song  (p.  321).  His  uncle  had  not  given 
him  a  song  with  the  necklace  because  he  himself  had  not  had  a  vision  of 
the  Moon.  Gray-bull  was  a  young  man  and  a  scout  at  the  time  of  this 
experience.  It  happened  sometimes  that  a  man  would  dream  about  a 
medicine  after  receiving  it;  sometimes  men  would  take  a  medicine 
after  acquiring  it  and  fast  with  it,  so  as  to  get  a  revelation.  For  this 
medicine  Gray-bull  did  not  pay  anything. 

A  crescent-shaped  brass  breast  ornament,  though  apparently  also 
connected  with  the  Moon  and  received  from  the  same  uncle,  is  regarded 
as  a  distinct  medicine.  Gray-bull  lost  the  original  and  made  three 
copies.  It  did  not  matter  since  the  Moon  knew  him.  He  was  the  third 
man  to  own  this  medicine.  Old-crow  had  a  brass  full-moon  for  his  medi- 
cine; when  he  went  out  as  captain,  he  would  dream  the  position  of  the 
enemy  but  did  not  see  the  Moon  herself. 

Several  informants  mentioned  a  war  medicine  carried  on  the  back 
that  was  called  irid,  after  the  dart  used  in  the  hoop  game  (batdk'  isud) .  It 
was  wrapped  in  black  cloth,  had  feathers  at  the  end,  and  lacked  the  white 
clay  painted  at  intervals  on  the  trid  used  in  playing  the  game.  White- 
arm  described  it  as  a  stick  of  some  wood  resembhng  the  masdpudte 
and  about  three  feet  long.  At  the  center  was  a  sea-shell  {maxtixe)  orna- 
ment; between  it  and  either  tip  there  was  this  succession  of  decorative 
appendages:  red  plumes  (nia-\-6ce),  magpie  tail  feathers,  red  plmnes,  and 
at  the  end  a  weaselskin  fringe. 

According  to  White-arm  thistrid  was  discovered  by  Long-otter  when 
he  was  mourning  the  death  of  a  daughter  on  a  peak  on  the  other  side  of 
Bozeman.  Some  being  had  seen  him  before  he  fell  asleep ;  it  was  seated 
under  a  pine  tree  with  this  medicine  over  it.  The  man  rose,  took  the 
iri9,  laid  it  on  the  ground,  unwrapped  it,  sang  a  song,  and  threw  the 
stick,  naming  some  country.  It  fell  there,  and  Long-otter  heard  praise- 
songs  and  words  of  thanks.  Then  the  visitant  sang  a  praise-song  and 
walked  to  the  mountain  top.  Long-otter  returned  to  camp,  not  knowing 
whether  he  had  been  sleeping  or  not.  Everything  he  saw  came  true.  His 
visitant  was  an  eagle.  Long-otter  made  three  or  four  copies  after  his 
vision. 

Looks-at-a-bull's-penis  is  also  credited  with  a  vision  of  the  trid. 
He  once  went  out  fasting,  but  could  not  endure  the  hardships  for  more 


422  Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

than  three  days,  when  he  returned.  Then  Cunning-man^  gave  hmi  in- 
structions. He  told  him  to  put  on  new  clothes,  also  to  make  a  sweatloclge 
before  sunrise  and  to  leave  camp  as  soon  as  possible  when  he  wanted  to 
go  for  a  vision.  Whenever  he  returned  from  a  quest  thereafter,  Cunning- 
man  went  to  him  and  asked  whether  he  had  seen  anything,  but  he  had 
nothing  to  tell.  Once  he  went  again,  going  up  the  same  hill  as  before,, 
and  stayed  three  days  and  nights.  Then  at  sunset  he  saw  an  irid,  and 
returned  on  the  fourth  evening.  Cunning-man  again  visited  him  and 
asked,  "Has  anything  happened  yet?"  He  told  what  he  had  seen.  At 
that  time  he  was  so  poor  that  he  was  obHged  to  walk.  Cunning-man  said, 
"What  you  have  seen  is  a  great  thing." 

The  people  moved  to  the  site  of  Yellow-crane's  present  dwelHng 
place  and  camped  there.  Several  men  went  up  the  mountains.  Looks- 
at-a-bull's-penis  went  lower  down,  fasting  two  days.  In  a  dream  he  was 
told  to  come  this  way.  When  the  would-be  visionaries  returned,  all 
built  sudatories,  sweated  themselves,  and  told  what  they  had  experienced. 
Looks-at-a-buU's-penis  said  that  nothing  had  happened  to  him  except 
that  he  had  been  told  to  go  in  a  certain  direction.  He  went  and  stayed 
there  for  three  days.  He  was  shown  a  place  where  there  was  light.  He 
came  home  and  saw  another  vision.  He  saw  a  spot  up  the  creek  near 
Lodge  Grass  canyon  and  a  child-woman  there.  Returning  after  a  few 
days  he  came  near  Black  Canyon.  His  first  vision  had  been  antm  but  he 
had  not  understood  it.  Now  he  stayed  for  three  days,  dreamt,  and  under- 
stood the  trid.  He  saw  the  child-woman  again.  He  returned  and  after  a 
few  days  set  out  with  five  men  for  another  revelation.  He  said  to  him- 
self, "Now  I  will  try  to  stay  four  days."  He  stayed  four  days  and  was 
always  on  the  point  of  starvation.  A  hawk  {ma-\-ipxdxe)  adopted  him, 
then  he  returned  home.  He  walked  slowly  from  weakness.  A  bear 
jumped  up  and  caught  hun.  He  thought  he  was  being  killed,  but  the 
bear  held  him  up  and  asked  whether  he  could  see  all  the  world.  "Yes." 
Then  the  bear  said,  "Put  your  fingers  into  my  mouth."  The  bear  had  no 
teeth. 

The  woman  he  had  seen  in  a  vision  was  married  by  one  of  Looks-at-a- 
bull's-penis's  brothers,  who  was  killed  the  following  year.  His  widow 
was  with  child  and  gave  birth  to  Medicine-crow.  Looks-at-a-bull's- 
penis  married  the  widow.  The  light  he  had  seen  in  his  vision  was  a 
bacoritsi'tse  (see  p.  385). 


'This  volume,  256  seq. 


1922.]  Loivie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  423 

Looks-at-a-biiirs-penis  made  an  trid  and  called  all  the  children  to 
make  them  touch  it  and  pray  to  it.  He  built  a  sweatlodge,  bade  the 
children  bring  firewood,  and  made  them  sweat.  Then  none  of  them  died 
young  and  they  grew  up  increasing  the  population.  When  he  saw  big 
birds  up  in  the  air,  he  would  make  medicine  and  they  would  come  down 
to  him  forthwith.  He  had  frogs  for  his  hatsirjpe.  He  had  medicine  to 
make  horses  run  fast.  People  with  race  horses  would  give  him  four 
presents  so  that  he  might  make  their  horses  swift.  He  made  hawk- 
medicine  for  Medicine-crow,  who  was  subsequently  also  adopted  by  a 
hawk  in  a  vision.  Looks-at-a-bull's-penis  was  a  member  of  the  Tobacco 
society  and  would  make  the  Tobacco  grow  by  making  medicine  with  isL 

A  war  medicine  of  some  consequence,  part  of  which  was  secured  by 
Mr.  Simms  of  the  Field  Musemn  in  Chicago,  is  called  hatsipe,  Digging- 
stick.  It  is  derived  from  the  witch  Hicictawig'  and  consists  of  a  number 
of  sticks,  of  which  the  largest  is  decorated  with  a  lightning  Une;  the 
smaller  sticks  were  kept  out  of  sight.  This  medicine  was  carried  by  the 
captain  of  war  parties.  According  to  Flat-head- woman,  it  was  made  by 
the  owner  of  the  Sacred  Arrow  (p.  391).  Another  informant  says  that 
Takes-twice  first  saw  the  hatdpe  in  a  vision  granted  by  Hicictawia, 
that  Duritec  (Humpback)  made  the  specunen  owned  by  Whinnies,  and 
that  Robert  Raise-up  must  have  sold  the  medicine  to  Mr.  Simms. 

Dr.  J.  A.  Mason  of  the  Field  Museum  has  kindly  sent  me  the  follow- 
ing detailed  description  of  the  bundle  • — 

The  principal  stick  is  1  m.  long  and  3  cm.  wide  at  the  head,  2]'2  cm.  wide  in  the 
middle.  It  is  entirely  covered  with  red  ocher.  The  lower  end  comes  to  a  rather  blunt 
point,  while  the  upper  end  consists  of  three  rings.  At  this  end  there  are  tied  with 
thongs  of  buckskin  seven  pendent  eagle  feathers  also  covered  with  red  ocher.  The 
length  of  the  stick  is  incised  with  a  zigzag  line  consisting  of  just  about  a  hundred 
angles.  On  the  opposite  side  there  is  a  crude  representation  of  two  arms  and  hands 
incised,  as  you  will  see  in  the  enclosed  rubbing.  Then  there  are  three  plain  sticks 
about  1  cm.  in  width  and  covered  with  red  ocher.  They  range  from  103  to  107  cms. 
in  length.  There  are  four  sticks  about  88  cm.  long  and  1  cm.  wide,  well-rounded  and 
covered  with  ocher.  The  lower  end  is  pointed,  while  the  upper  end  is  left  in  two  bands 
which  still  retain  the  natural  bark,  evidently  a  cherry,  to  which  stick  are  tied  with 
buckskin  thongs  two  pendent  eagle  feathers  which  have  been  dyed  purple  and  then 
covered  with  red  ocher.  On  each  stick  one  feather  is  complete,  while  the  other  feather 
has  been  stripped  for  half  its  length.  In  each  case  there  are  smaller  red  feathers 
attached  to  the  base  of  the  large  feather.  The  last  stick  is  like  these  latter,  except 
that  it  is  shorter,  69  cm.  long,  and  apparently  made  from  a  manufactured  turned  and 
varnished  rod. 


'This  volume,  128,  204. 


424         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.     [Vol.  XXV, 

When  leading  war  parties  Gray-bull  took  with  him  the  skin  of  a  bur- 
rowing animal,  decorated  with  numerous  woodpecker  feathers.  A  piece 
of  wood  was  attached  to  the  back,  and  on  the  ventral  side  there  was  a  ring 
of  beads  representing  a  hoop.  Two  strings  served  to  tie  the  medicine 
round  the  neck.  Hawk-bells  and  an  elk  tooth  below  formed  additional 
decorative  features.  During  horse  raids  Gray-bull  used  another  medi- 
cine, which  he  showed  me.  It  consisted  of  a  buffalo-skin  representation 
of  a  horse,  supplied  with  strings  so  it  could  be  tied  round  the  neck. 

MAGIC. 

With  a  people  who  stress  to  so  great  an  extent  as  the  Crow  the  im- 
portance of  visions  and  the  aid  supplied  by  the  supernatural  guardians 
appearing  on  such  occasions  it  is  difficult  to  divorce  magical  from  ani- 
mistic practices.  That  is  to  say,  a  certain  procedure  resembHng  the 
magical  performance  of  other  peoples  may  ultimately  derive  its  efficacy 
from  the  revelations  of  a  spirit.  Nevertheless,  there  is  little  doubt  that 
to  some  extent  imitative  magic  is  used  without  a  clear-cut  spiritual  asso- 
ciation. Thus,  at  the  close  of  the  Tobacco  adoption  ceremony  all  spec- 
tators raise  aloft  whatever  they  are  holding  in  their  hands  and  this  sym- 
bolizes the  growth  of  the  Tobacco.  So,  in  the  account  of  sorcery  under 
the  head  of  shamanism  (p.  345)  the  employment  of  imitative  magic  in 
conjunction  with  reliance  on  animistic  aid  has  already  been  pointed  out. 
Altogether,  however,  it  may  safely  be  stated  that  pure  magic  occupies  a 
very  subordinate  position  in  Crow  life  as  contrasted  with  activities 
based  on  visionary  experiences.  Such  performances  of  weather  magic  as 
are  attributed  to  Lone-tree  and  Big-ox  (p.  344)  are  exphcitly  or  impUcitly 
derived  from  their  guardian  spirits.  Perhaps  the  hacoritsi'tse  form  the 
most  important  case  of  a  group  of  objects  not  ordinarily  revealed  in 
visions  and  possessing  powers  independently  of  spirits. 

Bull-tongue  showed  me  a  stick  used  to  attract  women.  It  was  over 
a  foot  long  and  was  decorated  with  buffalo  hair  twice  that  length ;  near 
the  bottom  of  the  stick  there  was  a  dewclaw  on  each  side.  The  owner 
carried  this  implement  in  dances,  using  it  as  a  fan.  Unfortunately  I  did 
not  ascertain  whence  the  stick  derived  its  power,  but  from  all  I  have 
learned  concerning  Crow  notions  I  feel  convinced  that  it  must  have  been 
revealed  in  a  vision. 

This  was  certainly  true  of  the  majority  of  love-charming  methods. 
The  term  duck'Uo,  also  used  for  casting  an  evil  spell  in  other  connections 
(p.  345),  is  specifically  employed  for  love-charming.  Charming  a  woman 
is  called  Md-ruck'ilo  and  a  woman  who  charms  a  man  is  designated  as 


1922.]  Loivie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  425 

ak-hatse-ruck'  ud.  Both  in  legend  and  in  eveiy-daj'  life  the  elk  is  credited 
mth  taking  pity  on  a  man  spurned  by  a  woman  and  endowing  him  with 
irresistible  powers  of  fascination.^  Sometimes  a  tangible  substance  is 
given  to  the  visionary  to  attract  his  mistress,  e.g.,  different  kinds  of 
perfume  or  moss  and  an  eagle  plume,  or  elk  dewclaws  strung  together 
and  attached  to  a  httle  sweetgrass.  In  revenge  for  his  mistress's  cruelty 
the  legendary  lover  is  represented  as  repudiating  her  after  having  gained 
his  ends.  At  Pryor  I  saw  a  robe  of  elk  hide  on  which  was  depicted  a  female 
elk  in  front  of  a  male.  This  blanket,  I  was  told,  had  been  dreamt  by  a 
man  eager  to  possess  a  woman  who  had  spurned  him.  After  going  to  the 
mountains  and  praying,  he  saw  the  robe  in  a  vision  and  subsequently 
captivated  the  girl  with  it. 

A  woman  deserted  by  her  husband  might  go  in  cjuest  of  a  vision  and 
receive  instructions.    She  might  be  told  to  burn  incense  and  smoke  her 
clothing  with  it;   also  to  use  certain  songs  and  then  walk  toward  her 
husband.    These  words  were  given  as  typical  of  such  songs: — 
Irak       batsgc        hur^m,       awaka       hOreke. 

That         man  is  coming,     I  see  him      coming. 

According  to  one  informant  the  woman  receives  a  special  weed-mecUcine 
to  be  incensed  and  it  is  its  odor  that  compels  the  husband  to  come  to  her. 
Then  other  women  mil  come  to  her  when  in  similar  difficulties  and  ask 
for  doses  of  the  same  medicine. 


iThis  volume,  191,  196. 


OFFERINGS  AND  PRAYERS. 

The  Sun  is  preeminently  the  recipient  of  offerings  and  the  object  of 
supplication.  In  the  old  days  a  man  setting  out  on  a  war  party  would 
say  to  the  Sun :  "If  I  bring  something  back,  I  will  give  you  eagle  feathers." 
Sometimes  fox  hides  and  later  red  cloths  were  substituted.  The  latter 
were  always  decorated  with  a  black  circle  and  usually  a  bunch  of  broad- 
leafed  sagebrush  was  tied  to  the  cloth  together  with  a  horse's  tail.  There 
was  first  a  gathering  of  about  ten  persons  in  a  tipi,  and  about  sunrise  they 
would  begin  to  sing,  singing  four  songs.  When  they  had  done,  they  took 
the  cloth  out,  brought  little  children  over  to  where  they  were  holding  it 
and  made  them  touch  it,  the  children  themselves  voicing  the  wish  that 
they  might  live  till  the  next  winter. 

The  sweatlodge  is  generally  conceived  as  a  Sun  offering,  and  all 
albino  buffalo  skins  were  ceremonially  given  to  this  supernatural  being. 

The  presentation  of  a  white  buffalo  to  the  Sun  is  already  mentioned 
by  Maximilian.^  It  was  described  by  a  number  of  informants.  Three- 
wolves  said  that  the  Crow  sometimes  encountered  a  yearling  buffalo 
calf,  white  either  on  the  back  or  heart  or  tail.  The  man  who  killed  such  a 
calf  went  home  without  touching  it,  gave  a  present  to  one  of  his  father's 
clansmen,  and  told  him  he  had  slain  a  white  calf.  The  father's  clans- 
man would  go  out,  locate  the  calf,  which  invariably  fell  with  its  face 
towards  the  east,^  and  skin  it  carefully  so  as  not  to  cut  the  hide,  which 
was  then  turned  over  very  slowly.  The  meat  was  not  touched  at  all,  for 
it  was  said,  "If  you  eat  of  the  meat,  your  hair  will  turn  gray  prematurely." 
The  father's  clansman  took  the  hide  to  camp,  singing  a  song  in  praise  of 
.his  clansman's  son  and  praying  that  this  man  might  have  good  luck. 
Then  he  would  take  the  hide  to  one  of  his  father's  clansmen,  saying,  "I 
have  brought  you  this  hide  for  you  to  offer  it  to  the  Sun."  The  old  man 
would  take  the  skin,  tie  it  to  a  long  pole,  carry  it  through  camp  with  a 
laudatory  chant,  and  say,  'T  shall  offer  this  to  the  Sun;  I  want  everybody 
in  camp  to  touch  this  hide."  He  went  from  the  camp  towards  sunrise, 
planted  the  stick  into  the  ground,  and  said,  "Sun,  I  have  given  you  a 
blanket."  Then  he  prayed  for  coups  or  horses,  or  that  his  relatives 
should  live  to  the  next  season  without  illness.  He  might  say,  "The 
people  have  done  a  great  thing  in  giving  you  this,  thej^  wish  for  .  .  ." 
Usually  only  old  people  asked  for  gifts.  Four  offering  songs  without 
words  were  sung.    This  offering  was  made  just  before  sunrise. 


iMaxinailian,   Prinz   zu   Wied,   Reise  in  das  innere  Nord-America   in   den    Jahren  1832  his  1834 
(Coblenz,  1841),  vol.  1,  -lOl. 

-This  is  confirmed  by  all  other  informants. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  427 

Gray-bull  recollected  an  albino  buffalo  that  was  killed  near  Hardin, 
Montana;  it  was  the  fastest  buffalo  in  the  herd  and  when  a  hunter 
crossed  its  tracks,  his  horse  would  be  exhausted.  On  this  occasion  the 
man  who  usually  made  Sun  offerings  was  not  of  the  party,  hence  the 
leader  himself  made  the  offering.  The  hunters  counted  coup  on  the  white 
buffalo  and  the  fom-  coup-strikers  ate  the  kidney-,  no  other  part  of  the 
flesh  being  touched.  Gray-bull  struck  the  second  coup  and  got  a  piece 
of  the  kidney;  holding  both  hind  legs  he  wished  that  he  might  capture  a 
gun,  get  an  enemy's  bod^',  and  strike  a  second  coup.  That  autumn  the 
Crow  killed  some  Piegan,  and  Gray-bull  struck  a  coup,  got  an  enemy's 
body  and  gun,  and  also  captured  a  medicine  pipe;  the  last-mentioned  he 
got  without  having  prayed  for  it. 

Gray-bull  distinguishes  an  albino  buffalo,  hid-\-ictse,  and  a  yellow 
buffalo  with  a  black  spot  on  the  back,  nlkawate;  instead  of  having  the 
black  circle,  the  latter  sometimes  was  black  from  the  sides  down.  The 
ndkawate  were  usually  calves.  The  ceremonies  for  white  and  yellow 
buffaloes  were  alike.  The  songs  used  with  them  differed  from  those  sung 
in  offering  red  cloth. 

One  informant  said  that  the  killer  of  an  albino  buffalo  rode  home 
with  the  skin  in  front  of  hmi,  singing  praise  songs,  and  presented  the 
hide  to  the  chief,  who  painted  pictures  of  the  sun  and  the  rainbow  on 
the  back  and  tied  a  plume  to  the  tail.  At  daybreak  he  sang  a  song,  telhng 
the  Sun  of  the  offering,  attached  it  to  a  high  pole,  and  placed  it  on  a  hill, 
where  it  was  left  to  fall;  no  one  would  touch  it  thereafter. 

Sitting-elk  said  that  only  a  medicineman  was  permitted  to  skin  an 
albino  buffalo.    The  skin  was  suspended  from  an  ash  or  cottonwood  pole. 

I  secured  two  versions  of  the  prayer  uttered  at  the  formal  presenta- 
tion of  an  albino  skin  to  the  Sun : — 


ax'ace,     disSace     diawak'.     bare-ambiraxbak'e     itsi.  bak'ate, 

Sun  your  robe    I  make.  Our  way  of  living  good  (may  it  be) .  The  children, 

biraxbak'e      itsik"ate       d'tsipare  ahui-matsik'. 

the  people  peacefully        (may  they)  multiply      and  be  plentiful. 

2. 

kahe,           masa'ka,                kan-disaace       diawahik.  kam-bari'ku, 

Greeting,        father's  clansman,      now  your  robe        I  have  just  made.  Now  I  give  it  to  you, 

k'ok'.            ambibiraxbake    itsia     mak'ii.     bac-birax  bak'e  -itse         awirupe 

this  is  it.           My  way  of  living      good       give  me.       My  people  (object)  safely         the  next  year 

awawi.                              bac-bak'ate    a'tsipari,                   barak'  duxirek'ate 

I  shall  reach  with  them.         My  children         may  they  increase,         my  sons         when  on  the  warpath 

itsirik'ate      aruo,                          barak'        duxire  ise                    cipita 

horses                  (may  they)  bring,           my  son           when  on  the  warpath  (with)  face           black 


>Indicating  victory. 


428         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 
k'Qi.  amarire  hutse  biic-koi,  bice 

may  he  return.  When  I  am  on  the  move,  the  wind  to  my  face  may  come,  the  buffalo 

bis  axis.  hinne  biawakce  bac-bapare  Itsi,  batsurak 

towards  me        (may)  gather.       This       summer        my  plants         (may  they  be)  good,        the  cherries 

ahui.        bare  itsi,  ba+isande    bl        hi-sai.  biawekcc 

plenty.        The  winter         (may  it  be)  good,         illness  me         shall  not  reach.        Summer 

bik'e  -  raracia     awakawi,       a^)e        arakiixke    hi'irak  awakawi.      a^e 

grass         new  may  I  see,         leaves         full-sized         when  they  come         may  I  see.         Leaves 

didxe  awakawi.    bii'pe        basakace         awakawi.     ambiawakuse    awdkawi, 

leaves  yellow        may  I  see.       Snowfall      the  very  first      may  I  see.       Spring  may  I  see, 

bacbiraxbak'e     xaxiia     itsik'ate     awawi. 

my  people  all  in  safety        may  I  reach  it  (the  season)  with  them. 

From  various  statements  it  appears  that  making  a  ritualistic  offering 
to  the  Sun,  whether  in  the  form  of  an  albino  buffalo  sldn  or  of  red  cloth, 
was  viewed  like  other  ceremonial  privileges,  i.e.,  was  vested  in  individuals 
who  directty  or  indirectly  derived  their  authority  from  a  vision.  The 
Hardin  offering  was  made  by  someone  else  avowedly  as  a  makeshift; 
Medicine-crow's  father  and  grandfather  are  mentioned  as  preeminently 
persons  who  presented  the  Sun  with  red  cloth;  and  so  forth. 

Offerings  are  not  restricted  to  the  Sun,  but  maj^  be  made  to  any 
supernatural  agency.  Pryor  Creek  derives  its  name,  aru^t-a^ce,  i.e., 
Arrow-stream,  from  the  injunction  of  a  mythic  dwarf  who  decreed  that  all 
the  Indians  passing  a  certain  spot  should  shoot  arrows  into  a  cleft  as  an 
offering  to  him.  The  legendary  incident  reacted  on  actual  practice  for 
within  the  lifetime  of  my  informants  the  rule  was  followed  bj'  the  Crow.^ 
Offerings  were  sometimes  made  to  the  fire,  to  water,  or  some  curiously 
shaped  rock,  accompanied  with  some  such  utterance  as,  "Eat  this.  Water, 
so  that  I  may  live  long."  Beads  were  presented  to  the  medicine  rocks 
(bacoritsi'tse) .  Of  course,  the  cutting  of  one's  flesh  in  the  quest  of  a 
vision  is  also  regarded  as  a  form  of  offering. 

Offerings  tended  to  ensure  longevity.  An  old  woman  volunteered 
the  information  that  she  had  made  many  offerings  in  her  day;  hence  she 
had  lived  until  her  hair  had  turned  gray. 

The  sweatlodge  (awusud)  is  a  form  of  offering  that  plays  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  life  of  the  Crow  Indians  and  has  alread}^  been 
described  in  connection  with  the  Tobacco  ceremonj'.  It  is  clear  from  the 
best  accounts  that  primarily  it  was  a  distinctly  ritualistic  institution  and 
was  not  indulged  in  without  some  definite  religious  purpose.  Nowadays 
anyone  may  put  up  a  sudatory  and  sweat,  and  there  are  men  who  have  a 
passion  for  frequent  indulgence  in  sweat-bathing  which  an  interpreter 
compared  to  that  of  white  people  addicted  to  the  cigarette-smoking 

'This  volume,  169  f. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  429 

habit.  Anciently  a  sweatlodge  was  held  sacred  and  might  not  be  erected 
except  by  one  who  had  acquired  the  title  thereto  either  by  personal  vision 
or  by  purchase.  Even  those  who  had  the  privilege  would  only  sweat, 
according  to  Bull-all-the-time,  when  prompted  by  a  dream.  Gray-bull 
and  Bull-all-the-time  agree  that  formerly  only  or  mostly  old  people 
went  into  sudatories.  Gray-bull  stated  that  their  use  for  medicinal 
purposes  is  relatively  recent;  they  were  formerly  built  when  going  on  a 
war  party,  when  returning  from  a  successful  raid  with  a  horse  or  after 
striking  a  coup,  and  in  connection  with  the  Tobacco  society.  Bull-all- 
the-time  says  people  would  make  conditional  pledges  to  put  up  a  suda- 
tory. "If  I  get  well,  I'll  erect  a  sweatlodge."  "If  I  live  till  the  fall,  I 
shall  make  a  sweatlodge. ' '  According  to  him  the  original  use  of  the  lodge 
was  for  old  people,  later  the  Crow  came  to  use  it  for  medicines  (the 
Tobacco?)  and  in  going  on  war  parties,  and  finally  anyone  came  to  use  it 
without  particular  reason. 

Bull-all-the-time  declared  that  the  Moon  originated  the  sweatlodge, 
that  formerly  sweatlodges  were  put  up  in  Moon's  honor  in  the  evening 
and  in  Sun's  in  the  morning.  Only  lately  this  informant  has  taken  to 
putting  up  sudatories  at  noon.  The  sweatlodge  had  been  his  adopted 
father's  medicine.  According  to  Gray-bull,  the  sweatlodge  was  put  up 
in  honor  of  the  Sun,  who  was  regarded  as  the  owner.  This  he  remarked, 
appeared  from  the  formula  used  in  making  the  vow  of  erection,  viz.: — 
masa'ka,  ba+itsem  act        awa-rak,         awusua         diawawik". 

My  father's  clansman,      something  good      camp       if  I  bring  to,       sweatlodge       I  shall  make. 

The  point  of  this  argument  is  that  the  stem  for  father's  clansman  is 
used  in  vocative  form  only  when  praying  to  the  Sun.  Little-rump  says 
that  in  going  to  war  the  sweatlodge  was  erected  in  honor  of  Old-woman's- 
Grandson. 

Today  the  same  sweathouse  frame  may  be  used  repeatedly,  but  in 
the  old  days  when  the  people  were  constantly  on  the  move  and  sweat- 
lodges  were  much  more  rarely  employed  there  was  httle  chance  to  use  a 
frame  a  second  time.  The  number  of  willows  used  for  the  frame  varies 
from  twelve  to  one  hundred.  Medicine-crow,  in  describing  the  Tobacco 
ritual,  said  the  number  might  be  one  hundred  or  any  number  with  four 
in  the  units'  place,  from  fourteen  to  ninety-four.  Three-wolves  asserted 
that  twelve-willow  frames  were  reckoned  less  sacred  than  others  and  had 
the  fireplace  on  the  side  instead  of  in  the  center.  Others  did  not  associate 
the  latter  detail  with  the  number  of  sticks  but  declared  that  the  fashion 
of  shifting  the  fireplace  to  the  side  was  a  recent  innovation  borrowed 
from  the  Nez  Perce. 


430         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natm-al  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Three-wolves  furnished  the  following  account  of  the  procedure : — 
The  first  four  stones  are  put  into  the  fireplace,  one  by  one,  by  means  of  a  forked 
stick.  When  the  fourth  has  been  deposited,  the  stone-bearer  voices  some  wish,  where- 
upon he  may  throw  in  as  many  rocks  as  he  pleases,  two  by  two.  Water  is  set  down  by 
the  stones.  The  bathers  enter,  one  by  one,  never  walking  in  front  of  the  stone-tender. 
The  lodge  is  covered,  then  one  man  dips  his  hand  into  the  water  and  sprinkles  four 
handfuls  on  the  rocks,  whereupon  four  wishes  are  expressed.  The  man  nearest  the 
entrance  tells  of  a  dream,  such  as,  "I  have  seen  snow  on  the  ground,"  or,  "I  have  seen 
horsetracks."  The  rest  cry,  "Thanks!"  and  pray  aloud:  "May  I  get  there!"  (if  a 
season  has  been  mentioned.)  The  door  is  flung  open  and  the  inmates  cool  off.  The 
dreamer  recounts  a  second  dream,  then  the  cover  is  put  on  again.  Now  seven  hand- 
fuls are  poured  on  the  rocks  to  symbolize  the  Dipper.  After  the  period  of  sweating 
the  second  man  from  the  door  tells  his  dreams,  and  the  lodge  is  uncovered  for  a  while. 
Next  ten  cupfuls  are  poured  on  the  rocks  and  the  third  man  tells  his  dreams.  The 
fourth  time  they  throw  on  an  uncounted  {tsimusu^Y  number  of  handfuls.  The  fourth 
man  tells  only  one  dream,  then  cries,  "Throw  the  door  wide  open!"  All  now  jump 
up  and  run  into  the  river.  While  inside  the  bathers  scourge  themselves  with  horsetail"^ 
or  sagebrush  whips  in  order  to  perspire  still  more.  In  the  smaller  lodges  five  or  six 
sweat  themselves  at  a  time;    in  the  larger  ones  from  ten  to  twelve. 

Other  informants  add  some  interesting  details.  Bull-all-the-time 
says  that  in  the  winter  some  men  would  roll  in  the  snow  after  a  sweat- 
bath.  According  to  him,  the  lodge  is  carpeted  with  sagebrush.  Four 
times  they  pretend  to  put  isk  incense  on  the  fireplace,  and  the  fifth  time 
they  actually  do  so.  This,  if  I  understand  my  informant  correctly, 
takes  place  before  the  deposition  of  the  rocks.  Gray-bull  explained  that 
the  dirt  removed  from  the  fireplace  is  piled  up  outside  the  frame  between 
the  door  and  the  fire  in  which  the  rocks  are  heated  and  that  no  one  is 
permitted  to  pass  between.  The  man  to  pour  water  entered  first  and 
sat  down  on  the  left  side  from  one  entering;  the  rest  passed  in  behind 
him,  all  going  on  the  left  side.  While  the  first  four  rocks  were  deposited, 
all  in  the  lodge  kept  quiet.  After  the  fourth  stone  they  all  expressed  their 
wishes  (Three- wolves  only  mentions  the  stone-carrier  in  this  connection) . 
When  the  water-pourer  has  told  of  the  season  he  has  dreamt  of,  the 
people  both  inside  and  outside  cry,  "Thanks!"  Then  the  door  is  opened. 
After  a  while  the  pourer  says,  ''Close  the  door!  All  of  us  shall  get  there^ 
together."  While  the  door  is  open,  water  is  put  in  and  all  the  bathers 
drink  of  it.  One  of  them  will  say,  "I  am  drinking  the  long  rain"  {xar- 
dtsg'e  k'o  icbtk').  This  refers  to  the  long  rain  in  the  fall  and  is  equivalent 
to  a  prayer  that  the  speaker  and  his  companions  may  live  to  see  the  next 
fall.    When  all  have  drunk,  the  dreamer  says,  "Close  the  door.    I  want 


•Fromi.sirne,  to  count;  su,  not  (plural  form) . 

^Buffalo  tails  mounted  on  short  sticks  are  perhaps  more  common. 

^That  is,  to  the  season  mentioned. 


1922. 


Loioie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  431 


to  drink  in  peace"  {itsik'ata  birichiwik').  Gray-bull  describes  this  drink- 
ing feature  as  if  it  belonged  to  the  second  intermission;  it  is  not  clear 
whether  it  is  restricted  to  that  period  or  not.  As  an  offering  the  sweat- 
bathers  would  tie  red  cloth  to  a  stick  and  lean  it  against  the  sweatlodge. 
Little-rump  says  that  the  stick  with  the  red  cloth,  for  which  an  eagle 
wing  might  be  substituted,  was  put  on  top  of  the  lodge  and  the  owner 
would  say,  addressing  Old-woman's-grandson,  "I  have  made  this  sweat- 
lodge  because  you  told  me  to  make  it.  (Kdricbapitudc,  hd-wi-di9-ra'tsic 
hinnem  kan-didwak\)  I  give  you  this  red  cloth  (or  eagle  wing)."  On 
the  red  cloth  were  marked  stars  or  moons  and  sometimes  a  circle  to 
represent  the  sun.  The  owner  sat  on  the  left  side  for  one  entering  and 
would  sing  songs;  all  who  came  in  were  expected  to  sing.  The  floor  of 
the  lodge  was  nicely  prepared,  being  covered  with  ground-cedar,  and 
charcoal  was  sprinkled  on  it.  Little-rump  bought  the  privilege  of  making 
a  sweatlodge  and  puts  one  up  twice  a  year,  in  the  spring  and  in  the  fall, 
in  obedience  to  the  instructions  received  at  the  time  of  the  purchase. 
Sometimes  he  has  made  a  hundred-willow  lodge. 

Women  are  not  excluded  from  the  sweatlodge  but  they  enter  it  more 
particularly  in  connection  with  Tobacco  adoptions,  when  they  normally 
sit  by  their  husbands. 

My  personal  experience  with  Crow  sweatlodges  is  the  following.  I 
omit  matters  of  routine  described  above.  In  the  sunmier  of  1910 
Medicine-crow  was  telling  me  about  the  sweatlodge  and  offered  to  take 
me  into  one  since  he  had  intended  going  in  that  afternoon  anyway. 
For  several  hours  the  rocks  were  heated  in  a  big  fire.  Medicine-crow, 
One-star,  and  Plenty-hawk  entered  the  open  frame  stripped  to  their  gee- 
strings,  while  I  retained  my  drawers.  Into  the  uncovered  lodge  were 
passed  the  rocks,  which  even  then  created  a  terrific  heat.  When  all  had 
been  passed  in,  the  blankets  were  thrown  on  the  frame,  covering  it  com- 
pletely and  making  the  lodge  pitch  dark.  When  water  was  thrown  on  the 
rocks,  producing  steam,  the  heat  became  almost  unbearable  and  I 
availed  myself  of  the  utter  darkness  slightly  to  raise  a  flap  of  one  of  the 
blankets  and  thrust  my  nose  into  the  air.  When  the  blanket  was  raised 
I  saw  that  my  companions  were  like  myself  bathed  in  perspiration.  I 
had  had  enough  and  withdrew.  The  Indians  assured  me  I  would  catch 
cold  unless  I  immediately  bathed  in  the  nearby  creek,  but  I  declined  and 
of  course  suffered  no  disagreeable  consequences.  The  Indians  continued 
their  sweat-bathing  in  the  prescribed  fashion  and  after  the  final  lifting 
of  the  cover  they  proceeded  to  plunge  into  the  cold  water  of  the  stream. 


432         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Prayers  have  been  cited  in  different  connections,  notably  under  the 
heading  of  Visions;  also  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  chapter.  The  concept 
of  praying  is  an  old  one,  and  a  modern  church  is  designated  as  ara- 
tsiwakd-\-u,  the  place  where  they  pray.  Women  as  well  as  men  offered 
prayers.  Young-crane  said  she  only  prayed  when  there  was  a  specific 
reason  for  it.  For  example,  when  her  kin  went  out  to  fight  she  would 
thus  address  Old-Man-Coyote  or  the  Sun : — 
Isa'kawuatakat,  bi  wakute  napioreti. 

Dear  Old-Man-Coyote,  those  around  me        may  they  not  be  killed. 

When  one  of  her  relatives  went  away  somewhere,  she  offered  a  corre- 
sponding prayer: — 

Isa'kawuatakat,  Itsik'ata      k'ui. 

Dear  Old-Man-Coyote,         in  safety         may  he  come  back. 

When  her  husband  was  killed,  she  mourned  his  loss  and  cut  off  a  finger 
joint,  but  did  not  pray  then. 

In  smoking  it  was  proper  to  point  the  pipe  first  up,  then  down,  next 
offering  it  to  the  four  cardinal  directions.  In  so  doing.  Gray-bull  would 
pray  to  the  four  winds;  he  had  learned  the  prayer  from  Bell-rocks,  to 
whom  he  was  indebted  for  other  reUgious  instruction.  Occasion- 
d\\y  he  also  offered  smoke  to  the  full-moon.  Men  owning  medicine-pipes 
also  pointed  them  in  the  manner  explained  above. 


TABOOS. 

Tribal  taboos  are  by  no  means  prominent,  and  individual  ones  are 
naturally  based  on  specific  visionary  instructions.  Maximilian  mentions 
the  superstition  against  smoking  a  pipe  in  a  lodge  where  footgear  is  sus- 
pended; he  also  states  that  when  men  smoke  in  a  group  each  one  takes 
not  more  than  three  puffs,  whereupon  he  hands  the  pipe  with  a  special 
sort  of  movement  to  his  left-hand  neighbor.^  I  am  inchned  to  regard 
the  former  custom  as  a  purely  personal  regulation.  Since  the  connection 
between  moccasins  and  smoking  is  not  obvious,  it  is  worth  recalhng 
that  according  to  Lewis  and  Clark  the  Shoshoni  as  a  sign  of  friendship 
removed  their  moccasins  before  smoking.  Personally,  I  failed  to  get  this 
corroborated,  but  an  old  Lemhi  told  me  that  medicinemen  formerly 
took  off  their  moccasins  when  smoking  during  the  treatment  of  a 
patient.2  Mr.  Spier  learned  of  a  similar  rule  in  the  case  of  certain  Kiowa 
Sun  dance  participants. 

Taboos  were  common  in  connection  with  a  hdtsinpe.  Li  this  case 
the  usual  consequence  of  a  transgression  was  the  appearance  of  the 
bdtsmpe.  For  example,  there  is  an  old  woman  whose  hatsirape  does  not 
Uke  to  hear  crying.  Once  her  grandchild  was  crying,  and  a  cedar  (spray?) 
began  to  come  out  of  her  mouth. 

In  this  as  in  some  other  instances  the  observance  of  the  rule  is-  not 
necessarily  dependent  on  a  person's  voHtion.  One  informant  said  that 
he  was  told  never  to  allow  the  young  of  any  animal  to  be  taken  to  his 
lodge.  Some  one  must  have  taken  some  young  animal  there  unknown  to 
the  owner,  which  would  account  for  the  rheumatism  that  has  afflicted 
him  for  eleven  years. 

Food  taboos  were  sometimes  imposed  at  the  tune  of  a  vision  or 
when  medicines  were  bought.  Thus,  when  Gray-bull  slept  in  the  Tobacco 
garden,  he  was  ordered  not  to  eat  the  manifolds  of  a  buffalo  or  cow;  and 
when  he  secured  some  bird  medicine  he  was  told  not  to  eat  birds'  eggs. 
He  was  still  obeying  these  prohibitions  at  the  time  of  my  interview. 


'Maximilian,  ibid.,  400. 
^Lowie,  this  series,  vol.  2,  213. 


433 


MISCELLANEOUS   DATA. 

Jim  Carpenter  tells  me  that  children  must  not  lie  on  their  stomachs, 
facing  the  fire,  and  are  scolded  if  they  do  so,  because  it  is  a  sign  that  their 
mother  will  die  soon. 

If  a  cocoon  (ak'irewe)  is  tied  round  a  baby's  neck,  it  will  not  readily 
wake  up;  hence  this  device  is  resorted  to  in  the  case  of  infants  who  cry  too 
much. 

Horned-toads  were  not  regarded  as  persons,  but  they  were  believed 
to  understand  the  Crow  language.  Girls  would  take  a  horned-toad,  lay 
it  on  its  ventral  (?)  side,  gently  rub  it,  and  then  say,  "May  I  become  a 
good  bead-worker!  May  my  children  be  born  without  difficulty!  "  Then 
they  shpped  the  animal  down  inside  the  neck  part  of  their  dress  and 
allowed  it  to  fall  down.  A  boy  would  say,  "May  I  be  able  to  make  a  good 
bow  and  arrows!"  Gray-bull  consulted  horned-toads  with  regard  to  the 
location  of  buffalo,  judging  by  the  direction  in  which  the  animals  faced. 

Before  going  on  the  warpath  a  man  would  sometimes  kill  a  buffalo, 
take  some  of  the  blood  from  its  shoulderblade,  and  spill  some  badger 
blood  over  it.  In  this  mixture  he  could  see  a  reflection  of  himself.  If 
he  saw  himself  with  a  wrinkled  face,  it  meant  that  he  would  hve  to  be  an 
old  man;  if  his  image  showed  the  scalp  cut  off,  it  meant  that  this  fate 
would  befall  him.  In  the  latter  case  he  would  be  afraid  to  go  on  the  war- 
path. If  the  hair  of  the  image  fell  down  over  the  face,  it  meant  a  natural 
death,  while  blood  streaming  down  of  course  signified  a  violent  end.  In 
reply  to  the  question  whether  he  had  ever  used  this  form  of  divination 
himself,  my  informant,  BuU-all-the-time,  said  that  he  was  afraid  of  it 
(Mtsirik; ) .  Gray-bull  said  that  this  form  of  divination  was  not  in  vogue 
in  his  day,  because  people  were  afraid  to  use  it.  However,  his  grand- 
father had  resorted  to  it  and,  having  seen  his  reflection  with  white  hair 
and  wrinkled  face,  he  became  very  brave  and  would  thereafter  dash  into 
the  midst  of  the  enemy  and  wrest  away  their  guns. 

Wolf's-white-belly  (tset-sre-tsiQc)  once  went  to  herd  horses.  He 
watered  them,  took  them  out  to  the  hills,  and  laid  down  a  rope.  Then 
he  took  his  saddle  and  sat  on  it.  While  watching  his  horses,  he  felt  some- 
thing move  under  his  seat.  He  thought  he  would  go  home,  took  off  his 
blanket,  and  tried  to  take  the  rope,  but  it  had  turned  into  a  snake.  He 
had  to  leave  the  rope  there  and  go  home  without  it.  Next  morning  he 
came  where  he  had  left  it.  The  snake  had  turned  back  into  a  rope  as 
before. 


434 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  435 

Scolds-the-bear  was  about  fourteen  years  old  when  the  Crow  were 
camped  fifteen  miles  above  the  site  of  Forsyth  on  the  Yellowstone  River. 
A  boy  about  sixteen  years  old,  being  the  oldest  of  the  boys,  had  the  rest 
gather  round  him  for  a  leader.  They  played  beii^g  on  a  war  party  and 
imitated  warriors.  They  took  bark  and  used  it  as  a  scalp.  This  boy's 
father  saw  them  and  said,  "Two  days  from  now  I'll  send  my  boy  on  a 
war  party  and  all  of  you  shall  go  with  him."  He  was  roused  by  the  boy's 
playing  and  had  this  announced  by  the  criei'.  After  the  boys  had  started 
and  gone  some  distance  they  waited.  Scolds-the-bear  was  in  the  party. 
The  boy's  father  also  went  along,  but  his  son  was  leader;  he  had  two 
center  tail  feathers  of  a  magpie  tied  to  the  back  of  his  head  and  at  the 
bottom  there  were  red-dyed  plumes.  This  was  his  medicine.  Only  one 
white  man's  hut  was  standing  where  we  camped  in  the  day.  In  the  eve- 
ning the  boy's  father  had  disappeared.  At  night  he  returned.  "All  you 
boys,  saddle  up,  there's  one  enemy  there  whom  we'll  fight."  In  this  basin 
they  came  upon  a  man  in  an  Indian  coat  with  a  knife  in  his  hand.  This 
man  ran  after  the  boy.  They  could  not  kill  him.  The  smallest  boys  got 
scared  and  merely  watched.  He  chased  one  boy,  when  another  ran  be- 
hind hun  and  shot  him  in  the  back.  One  boy  hit  him  first,  thus  gaining 
a  first  coup.  It  was  a  long-haired  man  of  about  forty ;  they  stripped  off  his 
clothing  and  scalped  him.  "All  you  boys,  I'll  give  you  a  chance  to  look 
at  it  tomorrow;  don't  turn  back  to  look  at  it,"  said  the  leader's  father. 
They  went  home  and  after  eating  went  to  bed.  The  next  morning  they 
brought  horses,  which  happened  to  go  to  the  place  of  the  killing.  Scolds- 
the-bear  chanced  to  go  for  horses.  Though  told  not  to  look,  he  dis- 
obeyed. What  they  had  killed  was  only  a  rotten  piece  of  wood  shaped 
like  a  man.  The  arms  and  legs  were  only  of  ground-cedar.  The  knife 
was  a  real  knife,  which  Hke  the  clothing  belonged  to  the  man  who  made 
it.  The  scalp  they  took  off  was  that  of  a  former  enemy  and  had  been 
placed  on  the  head  of  the  manikin.  When  they  scalped,  the  blood  looked 
as  if  fresh;  the  next  day  it  was  dry  Hke  an  old  scalp.  The  leader  of  that 
boys'  party  is  living  still.  There  are  many  other  witnesses  to  this 
bakumbtriu  (p.  347). 

Long  ago  the  Crow  suffered  from  a  heavy  storm  in  the  early  part  of 
the  spring;  when  the  grass  came  up  and  colts  were  born,  they  had  to  fix 
blankets  for  the  colts  so  as  to  protect  them  against  dying  from  the  cold. 
The  people  called  the  storm  Dog's-vulva  (micg  e'-cirec) .  One  spring  the 
storm  was  especially  violent  and  blankets  were  provided  for  all  the  new- 
born colts.  One  man  coming  home  through  the  storm  caught  sight  of  a 
man  wearing  a  hat,  overcoat,  and  gloves.    Putting  down  his  load,  the 


436         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

Crow  took  his  gun  and  killed  the  stranger.  After  returning  he  told  the 
people  he  had  killed  Dog's- vulva.  They  would  not  believe  it.  He  said  he 
would  prove  it.  All  the  people  came  out  to  see  what  he  had  killed,  being 
very  anxious  about  it.  When  they  arrived,  they  found  an  old  piece  of 
wood.    Since  that  time  they  never  suffered  from  that  storm. 

Mr.  Simms  has  described  and  figured  a  pecuUar  stone  monument 
situated  in  the  Big  Horn  range  in  Wyoming  just  across  the  Montana 
boundary.  From  a  stone  'hub'  about  3  feet  high  he  found  27  spokes, 
i.e.,  lines  of  stones,  radiating  to  a  stone  circle  about  245  feet  in  diameter; 
at  or  near  the  periphery  there  were  seven  smaller  stone  structures.^ 
According  to  Flat-dog  this  monument  was  regarded  by  the  Crow  as  the 
Sun's  lodge,  i.e.,  as  a  lodge  made  for  the  Sun  and  used  by  him  as  a  camp- 
ing-place. As  a  boy  Flat-dog  walked  through  it,  counting  fifty  steps. 
Many  of  the  Crow  would  go  there  to  fast;  the  structure  has  been  there 
as  long  back  as  any  period  alluded  to  by  previous  generations.  Those 
who  fasted  there  would  sometimes  hear  steps  of  some  one  walking,  but 
looking  up  would  see  nothing.  Of  such  a  one  the  other  people  were  wont 
to  say,  ''He  is  a  coward,  that  is  why  he  did  not  see  a  vision."  This  meant 
that  he  had  been  terrified  by  the  sound  and  had  looked  round,  thus  los- 
ing the  vision  he  would  otherwise  have  secured. 

The  High  Lodge  dance  (ac-hdtsg  i-risud)  was  never  performed  by  the 
Crow  until  about  twenty-five  years  ago  (in' 1914),  when  they  saw  the 
Nez  Perce  dance  it.  A  member  of  that  tribe  told  Old-dog  the  following 
story.  One  very  cold  winter  evening  a  young  man  fell  sick  and  died  as 
the  darkness  was  setting  in.  The  people  cried  all  night.  They  said, 
"We'll  dig  a  hole  and  bury  him  tomorrow."  In  the  morning  they  built  a 
fire.  The  dead  man  rose  and  said,  "Cook,  I  want  to  eat."  They  cooked 
breakfast  and  he  ate.  He  called  for  the  Nez  Perce  chief  and  said  to  him, 
"I  wish  to  talk  with  you."  "All  right."  "I  am  talking  with  you  now, 
but  at  noon  my  father  will  take  me  back.  Bid  all  the  young  men  in  your 
tribe  prepare  a  feast  and  bring  it  in."  They  did  so.  "Let  all  men  come 
into  the  tent."  When  all  were  there  and  had  sat  down,  he  continued:  "I 
am  going  to  sing;  learn  my  song."  He  had  a  bell  in  his  hand,  which  he 
shook,  singing  his  song  till  all  inside  the  lodge  knew  it.  "All  shall  sing  it 
now."  When  he  felt  sure  that  all  knew  it,  he  rose  and  danced,  singing 
at  the  same  time.  He  told  them  he  should  die  and  was  not  to  be  buried  at 
once.  All  were  to  stand  in  two  rows  facing  each  other  and  were  to  sing  and 
dance  to  the  song.    During  this  performance  he  was  to  be  washed  and  laid 


>S.  C.  Simms,  A  Wheel-shaped  Stone  Monument  in  Wyoming,  {American  Anthropologist,  N.  S., 
vol.  5,  1003),  107  seq. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Croiv.  437 

down.  Then  a  hole  was  to  be  dug  and  he  should  be  buried.  "Hereafter, 
whenever  any  one  dies  in  the  winter,  do  exactly  the  same  way."  There- 
after they  were  to  dance  for  four  days  and  buffalo  would  flock  from  all 
directions  so  there  would  be  no  trouble  about  the  meat  supply.  The 
3'oung  man  did  not  order  this  of  his  own  accord  but  for  some  being  above. 
When  the  Nez  Perce  observed  this  ceremony  they  camped  in  a  circle; 
not  so  the  Crow,  who  did  not  regard  it  as  sacred. 


APPENDIX. 

The  Five  Brothers.^ 

Once  there  was  a  big  Crow  camp  on  the  Yellowstone  belonging  to 
the  Many-lodges  division.  All  the  Indians  were  seized  with  cramps  and 
died  except  five  boys.  These  picked  up  their  bows,  arrows,  and  sinews, 
in  search  of  other  Indians.  They  had  a  flint  to  strike  fire  with,  but  it  got 
worn  out,  so  they  were  obhged  to  drill  fire.  They  lived  on  birds  and  rab- 
bits. In  the  season  when  the  meadowlarks  grow  fat  they  sighted  a  big 
camp  in  the  Big  Horn  Mountains.  They  said,  "Let  us  wait  before  going 
in."  On  the  side  of  a  watering-place  there  was  a  thick  brush,  where  they 
cooked  and  ate  some  meadowlarks  late  at  night.  They  slept.  The  next 
day  the  men  watering  their  horses  saw  the  five  boys.  One  man  tending  a 
herd  turned  them  loose  and  entered  the  river  to  swim.  He  came  out, 
carrying  his  clothes  on  his  arm.  The  three  older  boys  were  asleep.  Their 
birds  and  rabbits  were  cooking.  The  other  men  who  were  there  did  not 
invite  the  boys,  but  this  man  said,  "Come  with  me  to  my  tipi;  wake  up 
your  brothers."  These  three  were  bashful  at  first.  He  said,  "Come  over 
and  eat  with  me."  "Wait  till  we  have  eaten  our  rabbits  here."  "Come, 
you  will  have  a  better  meal  there."  When  done,  he  took  them  to  his 
camp.  His  first  wife  had  died  and  his  second  wife's  husband  had  fallen 
in  battle.  They  had  no  children  of  their  own  and  the  woman's  brothers 
had  been  killed  by  the  enemy;  her  mother  w^is  living  in  another  tipi. 
The  man  said  to  his  wife :  "You  have  been  worrying  about  your  brothers; 
I  have  brought  you  these  to  be  your  brothers."  She  sent  the  two  young- 
est to  her  mother  next  door  and  said,  "I  am  your  sister,  you  are  my 
brothers."  She  cooked  a  great  deal  of  meat,  giving  them  a  better  meal 
than  they  had  had.  "Have  you  enough?"  "Yes."  She  made  a  bed  for 
them. 

The  boys  got  fatter.  They  left,  saying  they  were  going  to  fast  and 
he  should  not  worry  about  them.  Each  chose  a  place  of  his  own,  the 
one  a  point,  a  second  a  knoll,  and  so  on.  One  went  to  a  gap  and  saw  a 
snake  fighting  with  a  rock-hzard  (etarire  =  horned-toad?).  The  snake  had 
eaten  up  all  its  young.  Where  the  boy  was  walking  there  was  a  sUde 
and  he  followed  the  lizard  to  a  cave,  where  it  disappeared.  It  came  out 
again  with  a  male,  hiding  under  a  grass-grown  knoll.  The  snake  passed 
and  the  male  caught  it  by  its  throat.  It  tried  to  wriggle  loose.  The 
female  remained  hidden,  not  knowing  what  to  do.    The  snake  could  not 


iThis  tale  was  found  among  my  notes  after  the  publication  of  other  myths. 

438 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  439 

free  itself  and  died.^  The  toad  cut  it  open,  and  the  httle  ones  came  out 
still  alive.  All  the  toads  went  where  the  parents  had  come  from.  The 
visionary  as  a  result  of  his  experience  became  a  doctor. 

The  boy  who  was  fasting  on  a  point  seated  himself  and  looked  down. 
He  saw  a  light,  but  in  the  morning  he  could  not  find  it.  On  the  fourth 
morning  he  planted  a  stake  in  the  spot  where  he  thought  the  light  might 
be.  At  night  he  saw  the  hght  and  the  stake  a  little  above  it.  He  went 
there  and  found  a  black  hacdritsi'tse  on  top  of  some  buifalo  chips.  This 
was  the  source  of  the  light.  The  third  boy  saw  a  vision  making  him  a 
good  shot ;  he  had  four  arrows.  The  two  youngest  boys  did  not  fast  but 
stayed  at  home. 

A  3'oung  man  who  had  killed  two  deer  passed  the  f asters.  He  said, 
"You  must  be  hungry,  pick  out  what  you  want  to  eat."  They  selected 
the  hindquarters,  front  legs,  and  paunch,  and  asked  him  to  build  a  fire 
for  them.  He  did  so;  they  cooked,  ate,  and  went  home.  When  they  got 
home,  the  boy  who  had  seen  the  sacred  rock  hung  it  up  above  his  pillow. 
His  brother-in-law  was  out  hunting  and  killed  a  buffalo.  His  wife  was 
going  to  make  a  parfleche  but  the  boy  said,  "Make  me  a  medicine  bag 
(bdcuce)."  They  went  to  the  river  and  painted  the  bag,  dug  up  sweet- 
grass,  dried  it,  smoked  it  and  put  it  into  the  container  on  top  of  the  medi- 
cine rock. 

The  boy  who  had  seen  the  snake  asked  his  brother-in-law,  "What  is  a 
weasel-necklace  (u"ta-ware-apia)V'  They  did  not  know  and  sent  for 
the  older  people,  who  said,  "Our  chief's  son  has  one  round  his  neck." 
It  was  made  of  the  darkest  part  of  an  otter's  skin  decorated  with  weasel- 
skin  and  shells  (maxdxid) ;  only  well-to-do  children  wore  it.  The  follow- 
ing morning  the  chief  said,  "Let  us  move  camp  to  where  there  are  buffalo." 
They  moved.  The  boys  left.  The  doctor  could  hear  what  was  said  at  a 
great  distance.  He  heard  his  brother-in-law  say,  ' 'I  wish  my  brother-in- 
law  were  here  to  go  with  the  hunters."  The  buffalo  were  chased  and 
killed.  The  two  younger  boys  got  a  man  (?)  and  he  gave  them  a  buffalo 
to  choose  from,  saying,  "I'll  carry  it  over  to  your  grandmothers.'  "  The 
three  older  boys  killed  a  fat  buffalo  with  their  medicine  arrows.  The 
young  man  took  the  two  boys  home.  The  three  older  boys  butchered  and 
divided  their  buffalo  and  got  back  late  at  night.  They  heard  that  the 
chief's  son  had  been  thrown  from  his  horse  and  that  his  head  was  cracked. 
All  night  one  could  hear  drums  beating  and  the  doctors'  singing. 


'Among  the  Paviotso  of  Nevada  I  discovered  a  strong  belief  in  the  power  of  the  horned-toad  to 
overcome  a  rattlesnake. 


440        Anthrojwlogical  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

The  young  man  said  to  the  two  boys,  "You  may  keep  the  horse  and 
saddle  or  bring  it  back  as  you  please."  The  woman  said,  "Bring  the 
horse  back."  They  brought  it  back.  The  two  boys  told  their  three  older 
brothers  about  it,  and  they  said,  "That  is  right,  don't  take  what  those 
people  give  you,  we  are  orphans.  We'll  pay  them  back  some  time.  The 
only  ones  we  have  anything  to  do  with  are  our  sister  and  our  brother-in- 
law." 

The  doctor  said  to  his  brother-in-law,  "Brother-in-law,  tell  the  chief 
that  we  will  doctor  his  boy."  They  wanted  to  get  his  necklace.  Their 
sister  said,  "No,  you  are  too  young."  Then  they  did  not  say  anything. 
Their  brother-in-law  wanted  to  tell  the  chiefs,  but  his  wife  would  not  let 
him.  He  shpped  out  and  told  Cunning-man.^  Cunning-man  went  to 
the  chief  and  said,  "Put  all  your  presents  together  and  go  outside.  The  five 
boys  over  there  want  to  doctor  your  son.  Let  no  one  pass  in  front  of 
them.  Have  the  door  face  the  boys'  tipi."  Then  it  was  announced  that 
no  one  should  cross  the  doctor's  path.  The  five  boys  were  glad.  Four  of 
them  went  ahead  and  the  doctor  came  last.  The  two  little  ones  sat  down 
by  their  mother,  the  two  older  ones  went  to  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  the 
doctor  stood  b}-  the  door  and  stamped  on  the  ground.  The  sick  boj^  had 
been  unconscious  and  was  bleeding  from  the  nose.  When  the  doctor 
stamped  on  the  ground,  the  patient  groaned.  The  doctor  came  closer  and 
stamped  on  the  ground  again.  The  boy  sat  up.  A  third  time  he  did  it, 
and  the  boy  braced  hiinseK  up.  He  went  nearer  and  stamped  the  ground 
in  front  of  the  boy  like  a  buffalo,  turned  back  and  ran  for  the  door.  The 
bo}^  rose,  followed  him  round  and  out  of  the  tipi  and  came  back  again 
panting.  He  sat  down  and  said,  "Mother,  I  am  hungry,  give  me  some- 
thing to  eat."  The  chief  was  glad  and  gave  them  all  presents  and  invited 
them  to  sta3',  but  they  would  not  do  so.  The  boys  said  to  their  brother- 
in-law,  "This  is  the  first  good  thing  we  can  do  for  you.  You  may  keep 
these  presents.  The  chief  heard  about  the  necklace  and  brought  it  to 
them.  "That  is  what  we  wanted."  They  told  their  brother-in-law, 
"We  are  going  on  the  warpath;  do  not  tell  anyone.  If  anyone  asks,  sa}' 
'They  left  me;  I  don't  know  where  they  have  gone.' " 

The}'  started.  The  rock-visionary  was  leader.  They  had  been  gone 
two  days  when  their  brother-in-law  was  summoned  to  the  council. 
"Where  are  your  brothers-in-law?"  "I  don't  know,  they  have  left  me." 
One  man  said  in  mockerj-,  "If  thej'  should  bring  a  big  herd  of  horses,  we 
should  laugh."    The  doctor  heard  this  from  where  ihey  were  and  told 

'This  volume,  2oC. 


1922.]  Lowie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  441 

his  brothers.  The  rock-visionary  said,  "We'll  see  whether  they  are  going 
to  laugh."  On  the  fifth  day  they  saw  an  enemy  with  forty  head  of  horses. 
They  waited  till  he  had  halted.  He  did  not  go  far.  The  horses  were 
grazing.  The  rock-boy  said,  "Wait  till  he  is  asleep."  He  went  up  and  blew 
out  the  enemy's  brains.  There  were  two  especially  fine  horses,  a  pinto  and 
a  bay,  the  remainder  were  good  too.  It  was  a  Piegan  they  had  killed. 
The  rock-visionary  was  leader,  the  arrow-owner  killed  the  enemy,  the 
doctor  struck  coups,  the  two  little  ones  took  the  two  best  horses,  the  re- 
mainder were  divided  among  them  all.  They  returned.  Before  they  got 
to  the  camp,  the  three  older  ones  went  ahead  at  night  and  got  to  their 
sister.  They  were  hungry,  and  she  cooked  for  them.  She  asked,  "Where 
are  your  brothers?"  "With  the  horses."  She  gave  them  breakfast 
for  them.  They  told  their  brother-in-law  to  sing  praise-songs.  "If  they 
ask  you  about  it,  say  that  you  have  had  a  good  dream."  So  he  acted 
accordingly,  saying  he  had  had  a  good  dream  about  his  brothers-in-law. 

Soon  the  boys  came  into  camp.  Their  brother-in-law  took  charge  of 
their  horses.  The  young  man  began  to  sing  about  the  one  who  had 
mocked  them,  using  the  words  he  had  uttered.  After  the  horses  had  been 
corralled,  they  returned  to  the  tipi.  The  women  came  and  brought  pem- 
mican.  "This  is  my  sister's  son."  The  leader  of  the  war  party  threw 
their  meat  away.  "When  we  were  poor,  they  did  nothing  for  us.  We  are 
going  to  deal  only  with  our  relatives  and  pay  the  two  others  who  Were 
kind  to  us."  So  they  gave  a  horse  to  the  man  who  had  given  them  the 
deer  and  another  to  the  man  who  had  given  meat  to  their  younger  broth- 
ers.   "All  the  rest  belong  to  j^ou,  brother-in-law  and  sister.' ' 

Not  long  after  this  the  five  boys  were  gone,  no  one  knew  where. 
The  man  said,  "My  brothers-in-law  are  gone."  "You  need  not  worry 
about  them,  they  are  men."  They  came  back  again  with  plenty  of 
horses,  all  of  which  they  gave  to  their  brother-in-law.  At  this  time  the 
chief  had  a  daughter.  Young  men  wanted  to  buy  her,  but  she  refused 
their  offers,  though  her  father  wished  to  own  the  horses  offered.  At  last 
he  said,  "I  want  you  to  marry  the  doctor."  So  one  night  the  girl  came 
to  where  the  three  older  boys  were  sleeping  and  lay  down  with  the  doctor. 
The  following  morning  the  brother-in-law  roused  his  wife,  saying  "Your 
brothers  are  married."  She  looked  and  it  was  the  chief's  daughter.  So 
she  cooked  for  them  and  woke  them  up.  "Which  one  have  you  come 
for?"  she  asked  her  sister-in-law.  "I  rejected  all  my  suitors,  and  my 
father  told  me  to  come  here,  saying  he  would  help  me  with  property,  so 
I  have  come  to  marry  him."  So  they  were  married  and  after  a  while  the 
young  woman  had  her  mother  make  moccasins  for  them  and  they  went 


442         Anthropological  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

on  the  warpath.  They  brought  back  seven  head  of  horses,  which  they 
gave  to  the  father-in-law.  The  three  older  ones  were  named  Medicine- 
stone,  What-he-makes-is-medicine  (the  doctor),  and  Medicine-shot. 

Some  time  after  this  the  young  woman  invited  them  all  to  her  tipi. 
The  boys  consulted  with  their  sister,  who  said,  "Yes,  but  don't  go  with 
him,  he  is  married  now."  They  went  after  buffalo,  the  people  being  short 
of  meat.  They  shared  the  game  and  turned  over  the  meat  to  the  young 
woman's  mother,  who  said  to  her  daughter,  ''That  is  what  I  w^ant.  You 
refused  3'our  suitors  but  you  met  the  right  one." 

The  people  moved.  In  the  winter  they  camped.  It  snowed  so 
they  could  not  go  hunting,  and  all  their  meat  supply  was  consvmied. 
If  anyone  killed  a  deer,  his  meat  was  soon  gone.  All  the  Crow  were 
starving,  so  that  the}^  ate  roseberries  and  boiled  hair  or  deer  hide  for 
food.  The  mother-in-law  spoke  to  her  daughter.  "Talk  to  your  hus- 
band about  this;  see  whether  he  can  help  us."  She  spoke  to  him,  but  he 
said  nothing  in  reply.  He  saw  his  sister,  returned  and  said,  "I  will  get 
meat  but  they  must  get  a  beaver's  castoreum."  The  girl  told  her 
father  and  the  crier  announced  it.  Men  asked  to  see  the  performance. 
"You  may  come  in,  but  don't  touch  the  door  and  don't  go  out."  He  got 
his  medicine,  which  was  hanging  up,  and  they  brought  the  castoreum. 
When  all  were  in  the  tipi,  the  medicine  rock  was  exposed;  some  of  its 
sweetgrass  covering  was  chopped  fine  and  was  smoked  for  incense.  The 
stone  was  greased  all  over  with  the  beaver  musk,  then  it  got  smoky  and 
foggy  inside.  All  the  smoke  passed  out  of  the  smoke-hole  and  as  it  did 
so  the  clouds  outside  began  to  part,  the  snowfall  abated  and  it  cleared 
up.  When  all  the  smoke  had  passed  out  of  the  lodge,  there  were  no  more 
clouds.  The  whole  camp  rejoiced  and  asked  the  j^oung  man  to  help  them 
get  meat.  "I  have  done  enough,  the  buffalo  will  come."  He  told  the 
women  not  to  chop  wood.  The  men  hunted  buffalo  for  three  days,  kilHng 
plenty  of  them.  They  were  told  not  to  break  any  buffalo  backbones. 
They  killed  so  many  that  each  family  had  two  rows  of  jerked  meat  about 
twenty  feet  long. 

The  shaman's  wife  told  her  father  to  tell  the  Indians  to  blacken  their 
faces  since  some  of  the  enemj^  were  coming.  It  was  in  the  spring  of  the 
year.  The  enemies  came;  the  Crow  killed  two  Piegan  and  had  a  big 
round  dance.  The  young  men  assembled  and  sang  a  song  throughout 
the  camp:  "What  I  said  is  coming  true,  I  am  going."  There  was  no 
more  sickness,  all  people  lived  well  since  the  coming  of  the  boys.  The 
doctor  had  his  wife  decorated  with  elk  teeth. 


1922.]  Lo'wie,  Religion  of  the  Crow.  443 

The  three  older  brothers  were  married,  only  the  two  younger  ones 
were  still  single.  The  rock-owner  said,  "I  have  been  told  to  go  over  to 
One-tree  {mare-tavy  and  live  there."  He  was  leader  of  the  camp  and 
everything  was  done  in  accordance  with  his  commands.  He  went  to  the 
Yellowstone.  All  the  country  was  covered  with  buffalo.  The  Crow 
kept  in  the  woods  out  of  sight  of  the  game.  They  continued  hunting 
buffalo,  making  two  trips  a  day,  and  had  an  abundance  of  meat.  This 
was  in  the  winter  time.  It  was  so  cold  that  the  grease  froze  into  sohd 
condition  in  the  morning.  The  rock-owner  told  his  wife  hot  to  break  any 
stones  in  their  tipi.  One  day  he  went  to  his  sister  to  sleep.  He  was  told 
that  his  mother-in-law  had  cracked  bones  in  the  tipi.  He  told  his  wife 
about  it.  She  went  to  her  m.other.  "You  broke  a  rock  in  here."  "No, 
I  never  did."  "How  can  my  husband  lie?  Let  me  look."  She  saw  that 
a  rock  had  been  cracked.  She  scolded  her  mother,  "That's  the  worst 
thing  you  could  have  done."  The  mother  went  out  crying.  The  herald 
announced  that  the  enemy  were  steahng  horses.  "Get  your  best  horses, 
we'll  pursue  them."  They  took  the  best  horses.  Four  young  men  went 
along.  One  young  man  had  no  horse  left  and  asked  the  shaman  to  help 
him  recover  his  horses.  "No,  I  did  not  go  along  because  my  mother-in- 
law  broke  the  stone  in  my  lodge."  The  young  man  went  away.  Another 
man  whose  son  had  been  killed  by  the  Piegan  came  to  the  shaman  and 
asked  him  to  help  him  get  revenge,  saying,  "I  have  been  mourning  for  a 
long  time."  But  the  shaman  refused,  giving  the  same  reasons.  This 
man  cried.  The  war  party  was  waiting  for  this  shaman,  but  he  sent  a 
message  that  he  was  not  going.  However,  when  he  heard  the  old  man 
cry,  he  decided  to  go.  He  got  two  horses.  "If  I  get  killed,  it  will  be  well; 
you  may  have  my  horses."  He  followed  and  caught  up  with  the  party. 
He  made  medicine  in  the  enemy's  tracks.  "I  was  not  going  to  come,  but 
since  you  asked  me  so  hard,  I  came."  He  filled  a  pipe  with  tobacco  and 
smoked  on  the  buffalo  chips  lying  on  the  tracks. 

They  started  and  sent  scouts,  who  reported,  "They  are  moving  in  a 
coulee."  The  warriors  asked  the  rock-owner  what  to  do.  He  told  them 
to  run  immediately,  not  waiting  for  himself.  His  two  young  brothers 
were  far  in  the  lead,  the  elder  one  struck  first-coup,  the  other  dismounted 
and  captured  the  enemy's  gun.  The  Piegan  ran  into  a  wash,  dug  a  pit 
and  fought  there.  The  rock-owner  was  far  away,  smoking.  The  man 
who  had  sought  revenge  said  to  him,  "I  asked  for  revenge.  What  are 
you  doing  here?"  "I  see  I  shall  have  to  go  no  matter.what  comes  of  it." 
He  ran  into  the  thickest  part  of  the  fight  and  was  wounded  in  the  chest 
so  that  he  was  nearly  dead  when  he  was  picked  up.    His  four  brothers 


>A  little  above  the  site  of  Miles  City. 


444         Anihropologicnl  Papers  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.      [Vol.  XXV, 

were  furious;  they  were  going  to  kill  the  man  who  had  asked  him  to  go 
out.  "It  is  as  though  you  had  killed  him  yourself;  we'll  kill  you  if  he 
dies."  He  did  not  answer.  They  returned  down-hearted  because  their 
leader  was  shot.  He  willed  his  rock  to  the  brother  who  was  a  doctor. 
This  one  said,  "I'll  try  to  help  you  first,  I  don't  know  whether  I  can." 
He  treated  him  and  he  improved,  then  he  began  to  have  faith  again. 

In  the  camp  the  people  were  down-hearted.  The  next  day  the  doctor 
made  them  all  stand  toward  the  middle.  There  was  no  water  to  be  seen 
in  the  river  on  account  of  the  ice  covering  it.  He  went  toward  the  river. 
A  herald  proclaimed  that  no  one  was  to  cross  his  tracks.  The  doctor 
made  his  patient  dive  into  the  water  up  to  his  neck  four  times.  The  river 
was  covered  with  blood.  He  l^rought  him  back  to  the  tipi,  heated  a 
stone,  put  cloth  over  it,  and  rubbed  it  over  the  sore  part.  Then  the 
shaman  was  cured,  and  the  people  had  a  big  dance. 

The  youngest  of  the  brothers  said,  ^'As  soon  as  the  snow  has  dis- 
appeared, I  am  going  to  hunt  medicine  for  myself."  The  oldest  one 
answered:  "You  had  better  not  go,  you  have  all  you  want."  "Some- 
thing has  always  troubled  me,  I  want  to  find  out  for  myself."  The  boy 
left.  The  boys  were  the  wealthiest  people  in  camp  and  had  everything 
they  wished  for.  When  this  young  boy  left,  he  told  his  brother-in-law 
not  to  worry.  He  made  his  own  arrows  and  killed  meadowlarks,  taking 
the  first  wing  feathers  to  feather  his  arrows.  He  traveled  about,  trying 
to  find  out  something.  While  walking  he  saw  some  cherry  trees  and 
among  them  some  smoke.  He  sneaked  up  towards  it  and  carefully 
approached.  He  saw  a  tipi  with  holes  in  it,  and  through  one  of  them  he 
saw  a  woman  cutting  lodge  pegs  (t  k'ace).  This  woman  was  Hicictawia. 
She  had  a  kettle  on  the  fire.  He  entered.  "Well,  well,  my  child,  I  am 
all  alone.  Where  do  you  come  from?  Do  you  know  me?  Is  that  the 
reason  you  have  come?"  "I  was  travehng  and  saw  the  smoke,  so  I 
thought  I  should  get  something  to  eat."  She  had  her  tipi  by  the  spring 
and  she  was  sitting  on  one  side.  "Child,  sit  here."  She  spread  some- 
thing for  him.  She  took  out  a  parfleche  of  young  buffalo  skin  and  opened 
it.  There  were  nice  lumps  of  fat  and  pemmican  in  it.  The  boy  ate  the 
meal,  then  went  and  cut  more  cherry  trees,  got  shafts  for  arrows,  bit 
them  with  his  teeth  and  stuck  them  all  around.  "Son,  I'll  tell  you  some- 
thing. For  a  long  time  I  have  given  you  visions.  You  have  not  a 
strong  will  (irdaxe),  that  is  why  it  has  taken  so  long  a  time.  I  have  been 
looking  for  you  for  a  long  time,  but  everything  is  the  same  to  you  {di 
xdxik').  Now  I  warn  you  not  to  go  over  there  where  the  point  of  the  hill 
is."  (The  tale  here  merges  into  a  recital  of  Old-Woman's-Grandchild's 
adventures^  with  the  snakes  and  the  sucking  monster.) 

'This  volume,  52  seq. 


DATE  DUE 

mm: 

iMiiUi.*^'^ 

G  A  Y  L  O  R  D 

PHINTED  JN  U.S.A. 

«' 


tmm 


BL2535.C92L94 

The  religion  of  the  Crow  Indians  /  by 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00109  4772 


fK^Ki^ 

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1  •.AMERICAN 

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